Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Redone Series
by Sonic3CDKK
Summary: My timeline of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog Comic before the reboot, starting from Issue 134. The point of this series is to flesh out the character interactions more and explain everything better (mostly by adding original scenes). If an issue does fit my timeline then it won't be redone. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Enjoy! Credit goes to Patrick "Spaz" for the cover.
1. The Hard Facts

**IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR MY PAST READERS: I decided to change how I release my stories. Instead of just releasing a new story per issue, I'm going to be releasing them as chapters starting from here. I'm doing this so it's easier to follow. So if you're still interested in this series, just follow this story. The previous stories I released will be added to this one with some revisions.**

For those who are new... Welcome! This is my timeline of the Sonic the Hedgehog Comic before the reboot. Starting from issue 134. The point of this series is to flesh out the characters interactions more and explain some things better (mostly by adding original scenes). I'm going to be adding some original story-lines too.

(Read this if you are new!) List of changes compared to the original continuity.  
•When it comes to age of the main cast; Sonic and Sally are 18, Tails is 12, Knuckles is 19, Amy is 13 biologically (16 physically due to the Ring of Acorns), Antoine and Bunnie are 20, and Rotor is 18.

•King Acorn isn't an asshole in this continuity. He is more benevolent and open-minded like his post-super genesis wave counterpart. Also, the positive energy of the chaos emerald used in issue 170 is helping his health rather than hurting it. He's healing from his previous traumas slowly because of this.

•Tails and Amy are close friends (not a couple, don't worry). I've always felt that Tails needed a friend around his age that he can relate to. Of course Sonic will always be his best buddy/brother, but in my continuity Amy isn't that far behind...

•When it comes to appearance, the only ones that have changed are Sally and Rotor. Rotor has his post-super genesis wave design but still has claw fingers. Sally has her clothes from her post-super genesis wave design minus the gloves and ring blades (for now). Her facial features and hair are the same as the old continuity.

So let's get started!

 **Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 134 Redone**

 **In the middle of Sonic's homecoming celebration, Princess Sally Acorn approaches the blue hedgehog in hopes of discussing an important topic...**

"Sonic…? Do you have a moment to talk?" Sally asked.

"Sure Sal." Sonic replied.

As they're about to walk off hand in hand, a reporter starts to approach them. Sonic noticed that Sally has tried multiple times to speak with him in the past couple of

hours. It seemed important by her tone of voice but something always interrupts her before she can speak. First it was Knuckles, then it was Mina, and now the

reporter was going to be the third.

'Not this time.' he thought.

The reporter asks,

"At last! Princess, can I photograph you and the royal consort for the front page of tomorrow's Knothole news?"

Sonic takes a deep breath and intervenes calmly with a smile,

"At a different time, pal. My lady here has been trying to talk to me and we need some privacy."

The princess looked up at the hedgehog, shocked that he took the initiative and was so calm about it.

She smiles softly at the reporter,

"Sorry, Sonic is right. We really need some privacy at the moment."

The reporter didn't seem offended as he answers back with,

"Not a problem at all, princess. I'll just take it later."

Once the reporter leaves, Sally looks up Sonic again,

"Thanks, Blue. I don't think I would've turned him down if you didn't say anything."

Sonic looks back at her with his signature smirk and puts his arm around her waist,

"Don't sweat it, Sal. I swear, ever since we've been reunited, everyone has been all over us. I think their parents forgot to teach them personal space."

Sally giggles in response.

"And honestly, I could tell you've been trying to get my attention multiple times. I figured what you had to talk about was important, but anytime you tried to say

anything, another person interrupted you. So I stopped it from happening again." Sonic explained, shrugging afterwards.

Hearing this made the chipmunk smile cheekily,

"I appreciate it, Sonic. What I have to say **_is_** important. Let's go to a more private place where no one will disturb us. We can head back to your celebration

afterwards."

Sonic smiles back at her and says,

"Let's head to my place. I'll race you there!"

He takes off quickly towards his hut.

Sally rolls her eyes and sighs,

"Sonic…"

The hedgehog then zooms back towards her just as fast and gives her a goofy smile,

"Just pulling your chain, Sal. Take my hand!"

The princess shook her head in amusement and pinched his cheek,

"You're so silly."

Sonic takes her hand and carries Sally to his place with incredible speed. Even though his arm still has a brace on it from fighting Mecha, Robotnik's robot "daughter",

he still has no problem carrying her places.

In less than 10 seconds they both ended up at his hut.

Before he enters, Sonic holds his door open for the princess with that cheesy grin of his,

"After _you_ , my lady."

Sally raises an eyebrow and smirks,

"Oh my, what a gentleman you are. Am I sensing a change in you, hedgehog?"

"Ha! Perish the thought! Not every girl is a princess warrior with a talking super computer." Sonic answered.

"You're not wrong." she agreed, laughing lightly with him afterwards.

"Alright, Sal. We're alone now. What was so important that you needed to talk about?" Sonic asked.

The princess quickly snapped back to a more serious expression. She remembers what she originally wanted to talk about, causing her to feel uneasy. She wasn't sure

how her love would respond to the request she was about to make.

Her immediate change in expression earned a worried look from the one in front of her.

Eventually she gains the confidence to speak up,

"Sonic…" she looks at him,

"Even though my parents are still the official monarchs of the kingdom, I'll be overseeing the daily operations of the city. They've given me a tremendous

responsibility and it's going to be a big mantle to bear...that's why I want you to rule by my side while they're away."

The request definitely made the hedgehog feel conflicted. He didn't want to turn her down but at the same time, he already had an important job. And that was

stopping Eggman. He couldn't stand the thought of being on the sidelines while the doctor continued terrorizing the planet.

Sonic answers honestly,

"Sal, we're in the middle of a war and the Freedom Fighters need me to lead them. I gotta make sure that Eggman doesn't harm anyone else. You know as well as I do

that I'm the only one who can defeat him. So if I don't stop him, who will?"

The princess gazed into her partner's eyes with a small frown. She knew he would answer with something like that, based on his expression and tone. She

understands how important his role is at keeping the doctor in check, but at the same time, she was very emotional. She really didn't want him risking his life again.

Sonic looks into Sally's eyes as well, sensing that something was wrong. Ever since he returned to her, he could tell that she was in a real fragile state after dealing

with his death for a year.

Suddenly the princess's feelings of loss get the best of her and she yells,

"There are many who are willing to stand against him—it doesn't have to be YOU, Sonic!"

Sonic flinches at first but then grabs her hand, bringing her into his arms before she can say anything else. In an attempt to calm her, he starts to run his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp.

His sympathetic expression appeared,

"Sal, calm down. This isn't like you. You're more level headed than this."

The blue eyed chipmunk was shaking at first but starts cooling off as he holds and comforts her.

He continues to speak,

"What's on your mind, Sal? Is there something you're not telling me? I've been sensing some pent up angst from you and I'm starting to wonder if I did something

wrong."

The princess lifts her head and sees how genuinely worried the Blue Blur was. She tries to keep her composure before she answered him, wanting to be strong...

But the feelings of loss have bottled up too much and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

She soon convulsed into tears and whimpered,

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I lied to you when I said I knew you were alive. I **_really_** thought you were gone and it completely broke my heart... Watching Mecha hurt you made

me feel that pain again and I don't want to lose you after I **_just_** got you back."

Sonic holds her even closer while still stroking her hair. Seeing the princess in such emotional devastation made the hedgehog feel awful and caused him to tear up a

little too.

He smiled softly and said,

"I get it, Sal. Being so far away from home was hard for me too. I was lost and alone but I was determined to travel through space so I can come back to you. YOU

were my motivation... and I wouldn't stop until I saw you and those beautiful eyes of yours."

His expression changes to a more melancholy one,

"I remember when I was framed for assassinating you, during that whole Endgame incident... Hearing that you were gone was one of the most painful things I've ever

felt in my life, and being blamed for it only made things worse. When I found out you were alive, I hoped you'd **_never_** have to feel that pain... But I put you

through it, anyways... and I'm really sorry that you had experience that."

Sally's eyes widen as she flashes back to the time when she fell from a tall building.

'I can't believe I've forgotten that Sonic almost lost me too!' she thought and then felt guilty.

She speaks out in anguish,

"How could I be so short sited? I completely forgot that you almost lost me as well. I'm **_so_** sorry for forgetting that, Sonic."

Sonic's smile comes back and he tells her,

"It's okay. I was so happy you were alive that I completely forgot what I went through to prove my innocence. When I finally saw that smile of yours again, all the pain

I felt disappeared quicker than any speed I can run."

The Blue Blur pauses for a bit and then continues speaking,

"Let me tell you something, Sal… something I thought about while I was lost in space."

She looks up and sees his soft smile,

"Before I got to know you better, I was always super reckless. I didn't care for anything other than finding my folks and the thrills that it brought me. I hated working

with others because I always felt that they would slow me and that I'd be better off taking risks on my own. Heck, I even told myself that I'd never slow down for

anyone, and that I'd always be able to do what I want by myself... If someone told me back then that I would be a royal consort to a

princess, I would've laughed at them. **_HARD_**."

Sally raises one of her eyebrows in response to the last sentence.

"Buuuut… when we formed the Freedom Fighters, I've learned from you over the years that teamwork is valuable. That as long as we stick together, nothing

can keep us down. But most of all, you've taught me that it's alright to slow down sometimes."

The hedgehog's sad expression returned,

"Sal, I agreed to be your consort because I truly wanna marry ya in the future. I wanna travel the world and go on adventures with you by my side, but Eggman

is getting in the way of that... I'm so tired of him hurting my friends and family."

He starts to sound angry but then changes his voice to a more determined tone,

"I wanna stop him for good, and work with everyone I can to bring him down... I know you want me to rule with you, and if Robuttnik wasn't there, I'd totally do

it to lend ya a hand... But if I did then the Freedom Fighters would lose their most important member, and more people would be in danger when I could've saved them

with my speed. I get that you worry about me and that you can't stand to see me get hurt. But I gotta remind you what's at stake here, Sal."

Sally starts to tear up again. She didn't like it, but he was absolutely correct. There's not a single person that can replace Sonic's role on the battlefield as well as his

results. With this in mind, she breaths in deeply and slowly regains her composure as she sees the bigger picture.

She nods at him with gentlest of smiles,

"I understand... And as much as I don't like it, I know the world needs you."

Her expression changes back to a concerned one,

"But please be more careful for my sake. I want you to remain in one piece. I'm not sure if I could handle losing you again."

Sonic chuckles,

"I will, Sal. I promise I'll think a bit more before charging into a fight. Anything to keep you from becoming a worrywart. We've been through a lot together, but with

your love and my friends' support, I'll be able to handle anything Eggman dishes out."

He kisses her forehead after his final sentence, making the princess blush a little.

She speaks up with a confident tone,

"It'll be hard running things by myself. But I'll do my best to manage things in the city while you deal with Dr. Robotnik."

Sonic's signature grin grows back,

"You don't have to do it **_all_** by yourself, Sal... I'll tell you what, anytime I'm not on a mission, I'll help you run things around the city. I'll even let you boss me around

without any complaining. Deal?"

A giggle slipped from the chipmunk's mouth,

"Okay, deal."

They both share a kiss while still holding each other. There was a tender passion from this kiss compared to their regular ones. It was more like a kiss of emotional

understanding. Eventually the two separate, smiling gently at one another.

"Let's get back to the others, Sonic. We're still celebrating your return to Mobius after all." Sally reminded him.

Our blue hero was relieved to see that the princess was feeling a little better. He thought she was so strong, and that he was lucky to have such an amazing woman

in his life.

They walk back to the celebration together, holding each other close.

Sonic, feeling the need to lighten the mood, says,

"I can't wait to dance with you, Sal. I've got some new moves I'd love to show you."

Sally found his remark funny and cracked a smirk,

"You, practicing dance moves? Who are you, and what have you done with Sonic?"

He laughs as they start to approach the celebration. All the Mobians there were still having a good time chatting with one another. The private conversation they had

only lasted fifteen minutes, so they had plenty of time to have fun. After Sally and Sonic both spend some time catching up with their friends, they ran into

the reporter again.

"Hey you love birds. Are you able to take a picture now?" he requested nervously.

"Sure. You in, Sonic?" Sally asked.

Sonic replied to her with a thumbs up and a wink. As the reporter takes the picture, Sonic and Sally make silly faces at the last second. The reporter wasn't

bothered by it, though. He was just glad he got a picture of the royal couple. Sonic and Sally both laugh like goofball's after glancing at the picture.

Soon, a ballad song starts playing and the Blue Blur offers his hand to the chipmunk with a coquettish smile,

"Shall we dance, my lady? I'll lead."

Sally's smile grew large,

'Sonic the Hedgehog, offering to slow dance with me?' she thought.

They start dancing, with the hedgehog's suave smile making the princess giggle lightly,

"This is new, hedgehog. Since when were you so romantic?"

Sonic responds softly while grinning,

"Well, I thought I'd mix things up, so I told them to put a slow song on. Besides, we wouldn't want things to get stale now, right?"

Sally closes her eyes as she dances with her blue hero and partner,

"I love you, Sonic." she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Same here, Sal." Sonic agreed, looking up at the stars.

"Same here."

 **End**


	2. Accepting Fate

The only things that changed here are beginning and middle acts. The mission on Angel Island itself doesn't need to be touched.

 **Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 138 Redone**

 **Sonic and Sally are summoned by the king to discuss the unauthorized rescue mission they both went on...**

"Princess Sally, how could you be so reckless as to disobey my direct order and go on a secret mission to Megaopolis?!" King Maximillian scolded.

"Mind your blood pressure Maximillian…" Queen Alicia advised.

Sonic, feeling guilty, speaks up,

"Don't blame this on Sal, your highness. I'm the one that convinced her to go with us. We wanted to rescue our old friend Tommy Turtle before he was put in the dirt."

King Max lets out a frustrated sigh,

"I understand why you felt the need to save him, and while it was admirable, it **_doesn't_** excuse Sally's disobedience."

The king stands and walks up to his daughter,

"How can you be trusted to run an entire city if you insist on taking such risks?"

Sally apologizes with a melancholy expression,

"I'm sorry, daddy..."

King Max sits back down and looks at her more calmly.

"Do not do this again, my daughter. You have a tremendous responsibility to uphold while we are gone. Do not take it for granted. You're both dismissed."

Sonic and Sally both respectfully bow to the king and leave silently.

After several minutes of walking with dead air, the hedgehog finally speaks his mind,

"Sorry for getting ya into trouble, Sal. I should've known how upset your pops would've been."

They both stop walking and Sally grabs Sonic's hands,

"You don't need to apologize, Sonic. I chose to come along because I _**really**_ wanted to rescue Tommy. We probably wouldn't have been able to save him if I didn't

come. He was only seconds away from getting terminated."

Sonic gives her a considerate look,

"I know, but I can't help but feel bad."

Sally sighs,

"Well, my father was right about one thing. I can't take another risk like that if I'm going to rule over the city."

The Blue Blur smiles confidently,

"I'm sure you'll do great, Sal. Your parents made the right call. Also, don't forget that I'm willing to help you out whenever I'm not dealing with egg-head."

This answer made the princess smile too,

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Anyways, I have to get ready for my parents to leave. I'll see you at noon, Blue."

"Alright, catch ya later." Sonic replied.

They hug each other and leave for their respective homes.

* * *

 **When noon arrives...**

Everyone in Knothole has gathered at the city's entrance to say good-bye to the King and Queen.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for coming to bid Queen Alicia and I farewell on our extended tour of Mobius; Sir Charles Hedgehog will accompany us

as science adviser and Lieutenant Antoine D'Coolette will command our elite guard." Max announced.

Sally hugged both of her parents and Sonic does the same with his Uncle Chuck.

Soon afterwards, the Blue Blur walks up to his lady and grabs her hand.

"Sup, Sal."

Sally smiles timidly,

"Hey..."

Sonic raises an eyebrow,

"You ready to run the city?"

The chipmunk's smile becomes a more nervous one,

"Yeah, I'm ready."

The hedgehog brings her closer to him and puts his arm around her waist.

"Farewell, Knothole city!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Wish us luck!" Max yelled.

Before the king enters the ship, he remembers something and focuses his attention on Sonic.

"Oh, Sonic, I forgot to remind you..."

He glares at the blue hedgehog,

"Do not convince my daughter to do something stupid again. You may be her consort, but I will not tolerate any of your tomfoolery."

Sonic smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head,

"Yes, your highness..."

Sally giggles loudly at her partner's expression and then glances at her father,

"Don't worry, daddy. I'll make sure the city functions properly while you're gone."

The king smiles at both of them,

"I know you will, my little bean. Farewell."

Everybody waves goodbye as the ship rises up and takes off into the distance.

Sonic leans his head on Sally's,

"Bean, huh? Haven't heard him call you that in a while. He seems confident in you, Sal. We all are."

"I better get started then." Sally replied.

She kisses his cheek and leaves for Castle Acorn.

After walking for a little, Sonic turns his head back in Sally's direction with a concerned look,

'I hope she'll be alright.' he thought.

 **Later at Uncle Chuck's diner...**

Sonic goes to have lunch with his friends. He sat with Tails next to him while Knuckles and Julie-Su sat across from both of them. Sonic gets served a couple chili dogs

while everyone else looks at the menu.

Julie-Su noticed the hedgehog's serious demeanor,

'I've never seen Sonic in such deep thought before.' she thought.

She followed up her thoughts with a question,

"You okay, Sonic? I'm not used to seeing you so serious."

Knuckles smirks,

"Yeah! Where are the sarcastic remarks and cheesy jokes?"

Sonic snapped out of it and looked at them both with his own smirk appearing on his muzzle,

"I'm cool, guys." he said before changing back to a serious expression and shifting his eyes downwards,

"I'm just worried about Sal. I feel like she still doesn't want me on the front lines. Like she can't handle me getting in harm's way again."

Julie-Su thinks for a second before speaking up,

"I know how she feels. When Knuckles returned from the afterlife, I felt pretty emotional too. It took some time for me to get used to him being around again,

but I eventually healed. Just give her more time, Sonic. She'll get better."

Knuckles and Julie 'Su look at each other smiling then turn back at Sonic.

"Su is right, True Blue. I'm sure she'll be back to her normal self in no time." Knuckles agreed.

"Thanks, Rad Red. You too, 'Su." Sonic replied.

"No problem. Now cheer up! I'm starting to miss that obnoxious ego and your snarky remarks." Knuckles jested.

Sonic grins mischievously in response,

"You do?"

Knuckles face palms,

'Ugh, why did I say that?' he thought.

Suddenly a large crash was heard nearby, causing everyone to stand up in shock. Then everyone gasps as they see Charmy and Saffron Bee come inside, only to

collapse on the floor.

"Quick, someone call a doctor!" Knuckles yelled.

 **Later at Castle Acorn...**

"Charmy," Sally started,

"now that you and Saffron received medical attention, can you tell us what happened?"

Charmy had a dead serious grimace,

"We lost _everything_."

The bee goes into excruciating detail on how Eggman destroyed his colony and killed his family, causing everyone to feel his grief.

But the bee was unable to finish his story as a soldier rushes into the castle and interrupts,

"Sorry to intrude your highness, but we're receiving a garbled transmission for Knuckles on the Technolo-Tree."

Everyone gets near the Technolo-Tree's monitors to listen, but the message was hard to understand.

The only words that Knuckles could make out was,

"Locke, held prisoner, Angel Island."

Knuckles blood started boiling and he yelled,

"That does it! Nobody puts my old man in lock-down! I'm packing a bag for-"

He was then cut off by Sally,

"Knuckles, hold on a second. This could be a trap. We should make a plan before you go rushing in there."

Knuckles wasn't having it though.

"I'm out of patience, Sally! I'm taking the Chaotix with me to rescue my father!"

Seeing Knuckles passion causes the princess to flashback to when she tried saving her father from the Zone of Silence. Not letting the echidna save his own father felt

wrong and unfair.

Sally nods,

"Alright, I understand Knuckles. But this is not a mission to free the entire island from Eggman. This is only to find and rescue your father."

The chipmunk glances at the hedgehog beside her,

"Sonic, they're going to need your speed so I want you to go along with them and make sure everything goes smoothly. Be sure to give me a full report when you

return."

"You heard her, Chaotix! Let's head out!" Knuckles commanded.

Sonic stares at the princess curiously,

"You sure you'll be okay with me going on a mission, Sal?"

Sally gives him a reassuring smile,

"Don't be so paranoid, Sonic. I'll be okay. Like I said, they're going to need your support if things get out of hand."

The Blue Blur sighs,

"You got a point. Especially since Knux still doesn't have his powers back. I just don't want you to get mad and then slap me or something."

The princess laughs and then cups Sonic's cheek, smirking at him,

"I would never do something so childish. I prefer to debate issues rather than resort to violence. The worst I'll do is playfully elbow or hit you if you say

something stupid."

Her smile became a gentle one and she looks deep into the blue hedgehog's emerald eyes,

"I'll admit that I'm still getting used to having you back. But after the talk we had during your homecoming celebration, I know you'll be fine."

Sonic smirks back and cups her cheek as well,

"Sal, have I ever told how lucky I am to have you?"

"From time to time." Sally jested.

"Well, I **_am_** lucky _._ " Sonic said.

"Sonic, hurry up you slowpoke! I thought you were supposed to be the fastest thing alive!" Knuckles yelled.

"I better juice, Sal." Sonic said.

He gives her a soft kiss on the lips and runs off with the Chaotix.

Sally smiles in his direction.

'Good luck, True Blue.' she thought.

 **End**


	3. Birthday Bash

Since I'm skipping issues 139-159, I'll list the **important** events that happened since and the small differences:

· After traveling to Angel Island with Sonic and the Chaotix; Knuckles meets Dr. Finitevus, finds out about the echidna prisoner camps, finds out that Lien Da is in control of the Dark Legion, and discovers that he has a baby brother. He rescues his father, and discovers that he is some sort of avatar for the Echidna's. He also gets his chaos powers back from his Super Knuckles transformation and learned that Remington as well as some other echidnas have been lost to Robotnik's egg grapes.

· Sally makes Amy an official Freedom Fighter.

· Sonic gets ambushed by Evil Sonic and was trapped on Anti-Mobius. Then Evil Sonic impersonates him and tries to damage Sonic's reputation by attempting to hook up with all of Sonic's female friends (even though the real Sonic is still Sally's consort). Evil Sonic eventually runs into Rogue the Bat and goes with her to Angel Island. The real Sonic escapes Anti-Mobius thanks to Evil Rotor and he stops Evil Sonic from getting to the Master Emerald with the help of Knuckle's father. Evil Sonic escapes with Rouge to plan something later. Sonic goes home and explains the situation to the girls (with Locke as his witness).

· Sonic protects Mina and her boyfriend from getting assassinated by Nack and Eggman during her tour.

· Issue 155 and 156 never happen (thank god) since Sally and Sonic are still together. However Elias does come to claim the throne from his sick Father. Antoine (who is really evil Antoine) tries to prevent this by attempting to assassinate him with a poison syringe, but Sonic is able to stop this. Sonic then uses the device that Evil Rotor gave him to bring the real Antoine back home and leave Evil Antoine on Anti-Mobius. Bunnie and Antoine get back together afterwards.

· Because Elias is taking the crown, Sally no longer needs to watch over the entire city, relieving a lot of pressure from her.

· Sonic and Shadow make a temporary truce (after fighting each other) and stop Uncle Chuck's Metal Sonic troopers.

 **Birthday Bash (Issue 160-161 Redone)**

 **Elias and Sonic are seen walking towards Freedom HQ, discussing Uncle Chuck's Metal Sonic Trooper Project...**

"…so you can see why my father approved the Metal Sonic troopers." Elias said.

Sonic smirks,

"Yeah, I'll buy it. But your old man should've known that the Xorda's little doomsday weapon wouldn't stop me."

"Duly noted." Elias acknowledged.

"So, can you promise me that's the last "brilliant idea" you royals come up with?" Sonic asked.

"Not just yet. Sally and I just have one more left." Elias said as they approach the Great Oak Slide.

Sonic raises an eyebrow in suspicion,

"Hold on a sec. You're not thinking about getting rid of the Oak Slide are you? I love riding down that thing!"

"Actually, Sonic. We're doing the exact opposite." Elias reassured.

Elias pokes his head into the base and shushes everyone who is hiding inside.

The Blue Blur steps inside the base and turns on the light,

"Happy Birthday Sonic!" everyone cheered.

Sonic grins widely as he looks up to see the original Freedom Fighter crew along with Amy and Fiona.

"No way! You guys fixed up the old base!"

"You bet we did, Sonic. The Freedom Fighters now have the perfect spot to prepare and make plans." Elias said.

Sally soon comes next to Sonic and leans her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hands around his left arm in the process.

"Reminds you of the old days, right?" she asked.

The hedgehog gazed into the sapphire eyes of the chipmunk and puts an arm around her waist,

"I'm getting goose bumps from all the nostalgia. I still remember the day when we first became Freedom Fighters."

Sally sighs,

"I do too. It feels like it happened yesterday. We were all forced to grow up so fast if we wanted to survive..."

Saying this made the princess feel somewhat sad. Remembering when Mobotropolis fell to the original Robotnik. She starts to shake off this sadness though,

remembering that this is a happy occasion.

So instead she smiles at Sonic,

"I'm glad you like our gift, though. Happy Birthday, Blue."

Sonic gives her a surprise kiss out of nowhere, causing her to blush intensely,

"Thanks, Sal. This is awesome!"

The princess giggles lightly and then smirks,

"Let's go somewhere more... private."

The hedgehog immediately grinned,

"Now you're speaking my language."

Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted by an explosion behind them.

This made Sonic scowl,

'Of course something has to go wrong... Such great timing...' he thought.

As the smoke clears, they all see Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear with mischievous grins on their faces.

"Happy Birthday Sonic! You can thank Robotnik! He hired us to blast you! And I got a lot of bombs!" Bean sang.

Sonic got even more irritated,

"Hey, that doesn't rhyme!"

"Who cares? Now come get your birthday spankings!" Bean threatened.

The green duck starts to throw bombs, with everyone dodging frantically in response.

"The only one getting spanked is you." Sonic jested.

The Blue Blur jumps towards the two thugs,

"It was sweet of Eggman to send me a gift, but I'm not cool with you blowing up Freedom HQ."

Sonic dodges another two bombs and scores a spin kick (Sonic Windmill) on Bark's chest. It barely fazes the bear, however.

"I figured with Nack being in prison, Eggman would have to hire some new clowns. But you two?"

He jumps back to avoid Bark's punch, smiling cockily at the polar bear,

"At least you look tough."

Bark spots a the Oak slide in the corner of his eye and breaks it off.

This made the hedgehog yell out angrily,

"Hey! Don't trash the Great Oak-!"

Bark cuts him off by hitting him with the wooden slide like a baseball bat.

"Agh!" Sonic yelled, flying back.

Luckily, Tails catches him before he hits the wall,

"I got you, Sonic!"

Sonic looks back at the two-tailed fox,

"Thanks, bud. That knock to the head made me realize why these two are working for egg-head."

Tails expression changes to a confused one,

"What do you mean?"

"Evil Sonic did a lot of stuff to trash my reputationwhile impersonating me. My friends and family understood when I explained it to them, but he

might've done something to these dudes too..." Sonic answered.

He rushes towards Bean and pins him against the wall.

"Time-out, buddy! I think there's been a misunderstanding. Y'see, I had an evil clone impersonating me and causing problems a while back. He…"

Bean then interrupts him,

"There's no "misunderstanding", Mr. Needlemouse. And even if there was, I don't care!"

 **Angel Island, the Master Emerald Alter...**

Rouge and Evil Sonic plan to steal the giant emerald from Knuckle's father's, Locke.

The sneaky bat enters the chamber with a mischievous smile spread across her muzzle,

'Now this is more like it! Let the master thief steal the emerald and leave the distractions to—' she thought but then stopped to see Evil Sonic about to take the gem.

"And just what do you think you're doing?!" Rouge yelled silently, startling him.

Evil Sonic grinned,

"Heh, I guess Locke didn't capture you after all. My bad, babe."

"You were supposed to keep him busy! That was our agreement!" she screamed, which got Locke's attention from outside.

"Don't get sassy with me, ya prissy bat! He wasn't around while I was lookin', so I thought YOU screwed up and got caught!" he yelled back.

They both were too distracted to notice Locke was walking up the stairs.

"Ahem." Locke coughed.

Rouge and Evil Sonic quickly face him.

"You two have tested my patience long enough. See your way out or I'll do it with force." the elderly echidna threatened.

"Man, this birthday blows…" Evil Sonic complained.

 **Freedom HQ...**

The slug-fest is still happening; Antoine has Bark pinned against the wall with his sword, and Sonic is struggling to get Bean off of his back. The duck had been pecking

his head multiple times.

Fiona spotted some silver keys on a table and had an idea.

Thinking quickly, she grabs the keys and yells,

"Bean, I got some shiny keys over here and I know you want them!"

Bean stops pecking Sonic to look at her,

"Shinies?"

"That's right, Bean! Go get 'em!" she said.

Fiona tossed the keys out the window and Bean quickly jumps after them.

This interaction perplexed the blue hedgehog,

"Thanks for the save, Fi. But how did you know—"

Fiona interrupts him,

"Hold that thought, Sonic."

The vixen goes up to Bark,

"There's no way you're going to get through all of us, Bark. Stand down now."

She and Bark squint at each other for a second, and then Bark surrenders with a smirk.

Fiona smirks at him too,

"Some things never change."

Meanwhile, outside of the HQ, Bean is talking to the silver keys like the delusional psychopath he is,

"Why thank you, Ms. Shiny-Keys! You have the most adorable accent! I wish I could stay but I have to get back to pecking Sonic's head and blowing up his friends! I

know! You can have my number so we can keep in touch!"

The green bird hears grass rustling behind him and turns to see Shadow walking up to him.

"Well, whaddaya know! It's Edgy the Hedgy! Have you come to pummel Sonic too? I heard it's great for building up self-esteem." Bean jested.

Back inside, things have settled down for the most part. However, Sonic and Sally both glared at the red fox in front of them.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Fiona." the chipmunk scolded.

Fiona mutters sarcastically,

" ** _Sorry_** for helping out. Go team."

"That's not what I'm talking about. How do you know Bean and Bean?" Sally asked.

Sonic asked his own question,

"Yeah, were you guys close friends in the past or something?"

Fiona wraps arms around herself defensively.

"Look, you guys. I… I don't have a great past, okay? I did a lot of… other things before deciding to be a Freedom Fighter."

The royal couple raised eyebrows at each other before focusing back on the red fox.

"We'll talk about this later. You're off the hook for now." Sally said.

Sonic's ears flick upwards as he remembers something,

"Wait, we still need to deal with Bean."

"No need, blue hedgehog." Shadow said.

He walks inside, holding the hooligan by his hair with one hand.

"I thought I saw some trash laying on your yard, so I decided to help you clean up. Consider it a gift."

 **The Master Emerald alter...**

Both Rouge and Evil Sonic start to approach Locke.

Rouge grinned mischievously as she got closer,

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Locke."

Evil Sonic frowns at the G.U.N. Agent,

"Quit foolin' around! We need to hit him before he uses—"

Locke cut him off, using his chaos powers to fling the hedgehog against the wall and onto his head.

Looking towards Rouge, Locke states,

"First rule of guardian; deal with the largest threat first."

Rouge smirks,

"Who? You mean little old me? Sweet of you to say that, but compliments won't stop me from taking that gem **_old-timer_**."

Evil Sonic recovers from being thrown and stares at Rouge and Locke fighting.

An idea popped into his head, causing him to grin,

'Now's my chance. While those two are distracted, I can use the Master Emerald to power myself up.' he thought.

He blazes up the alter's steps and jumps on the massive green gem.

"Evil Sonic! I could really use a hand here!" Rouge yelled.

"Sorry, toots. I'm the birthday boy, and because of that, I'm gettin' the good stuff first." Evil Sonic replied.

"You jerk!"

The doppelganger tunes the bat out and starts to power up, glowing green in the process,

"Woo-hoo! This feels great! Happy Birthday to me!"

Locke seizes his fighting and turns towards the glowing hedgehog with shock,

"No! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Looks like your priorities just shifted old man. Better stop him." Rouge taunted him.

"Get off the Master Emerald!" Locke scolded.

The echidna slashed Evil Sonic's chest, leaving two scars and knocking him off the emerald,

"You both had your chance to leave peacefully. Now you will reap the consequences."

"You want some more, old man? Give me your best shot!" Rouge challenged.

They are both stopped by Evil Sonic though,

"What did I tell ya, Rouge? It's my birthday, so I get first blood."

 **Freedom HQ...**

"This is certainly a surprise. Thank you for taking care of Bean, Shadow." Sally said.

"Hmph, not a problem." Shadow replied, dropping the duck on the floor.

Sonic smirks,

"So, faker... to what do we owe the pleasure of having you here? Getting bored of working for Eggman? If you came to tussle, I'm afraid my schedule is full right now."

"I did not come to fight. I came to thank you, personally." Shadow corrected him.

The blue hedgehog was shocked by this news and flinches,

"Huh?!"

Shadow continues speaking,

"If it wasn't for you, the Metal Sonic troopers would've killed Hope. You were there when I wasn't, so... thank you."

He then changes his expression to a smirk,

"But remember that this doesn't change anything between us. Right now I work for Robotnik, and we **_are_** enemies."

The Blue Blur cracked a smile,

"Heh. Well at the very least it should keep things interesting. But when you come to your senses, be sure to leave the fatso."

"Worried?" Shadow asked.

Sonic answers back in a snarky tone,

"Me? Worried? Don't make me laugh."

Bunnie then realizes Bean is missing and starts examining the room,

"Hey, have y'all seen Bean? Where'd that lil rascal run off to?"

Rotor peaks into the computer lab and finds the green duck communicating with Robotnik,

"There he is! Get off of my computer!"

Bean ignores Rotor and continues talking to Eggman,

"Yeah, Sonic and his friends beat us. I just thought I should let you know."

Eggman growls,

"I should've known not to trust a couple of useless thugs! You're both fired, effectively immediately! I'm sending one of my creations to finish the rodent off instead!"

Rotor grabs Bean and tosses him out of the room.

Fiona then towers over the duck,

"Bean, go sit with Bark right now!"

Bean does as he's told with a sad expression.

Sonic goes up to the computer monitor and stands next to Rotor with a smug smirk,

"You sending something else, Robuttnik? Good. I had too much fun with your last two gifts and ended up breaking them."

Eggman grins,

"If you liked my last two gifts then you'll **LOVE** my next present! I'm sending it now, you miserable little hedgehog! Happy Birthday!"

He laughs maniacally before ending the transmission.

"You know what he's sending, Rotor?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, it's some kind of one-way transport-" Rotor tried to explain but got cut off by a crash.

"...That was fast..." Sonic stated flatly.

"Sonic, we've found where it landed!" Sally yelled from outside.

The hedgehog was at his girlfriend's side in half a second and spots the crash site,

"Don't worry, Sal. Eggman's badniks are nothing I can't handle. This should be a piece of cake."

Sally smiles,

"We'll be over there to support you once we lock down Freedom HQ."

Sonic gives her a thumbs up and then turns to Shadow,

"Yo, Shadow. Wanna join in on the fun?"

The black hedgehog's smirk appeared again,

"...Sure, I'll humor you."

They both head to the crash site with Tails following.

'I hope this doesn't last too long... I want that private time with Sal.' Sonic thought to himself while grinning.

 **Angel Island, the Master Emerald alter...**

Rouge and Locke stare at Evil Sonic in awe. His appearance had changed drastically. He now had green fur, blue eyes, sharper teeth,

and he still had the two scars Locke gave him on his chest.

"Is that you, Evil Sonic?" Rouge asked.

"Not anymore, babe. I'm done bein' in the shadow of that goody two shoes loser. From now on, I go by the name of Scourge." he corrected.

"It doesn't matter if you changed color. I **WILL** force you out." Locke threatened.

He charges towards Scourge but the green hedgehog saw it coming from a mile away. In the blink of an eye, Locke gets taken out by a bunch of fast punches and

kicks, followed by an elbow to the head.

Before he can do anymore harm, Rouge holds him back,

"Don't even think about it. We may be thieves but we aren't murderers."

Scourge sighs in frustration,

"Oh, c'mon…"

Rouge states firmly,

"If you want to roll with me, then we don't kill."

Scourge backs off,

"Gosh, you're such a buzzkill! Whatever man... I've got a weakling to stomp, anyways."

Rouge raises an eyebrow,

"You're talking about Sonic, aren't you? He's all the way in Knothole, so how are you going to get there?"

Scourge scoffs,

"I have a few new tricks, babe. Just follow my lead."

Scourge and Rouge walk up the steps to the Master Emerald.

The green hedgehog grips the bat's wrist and yells,

"Chaos control!"

 **Freedom HQ...**

Sally is just about done locking up the HQ while Sonic, Shadow, and Tails approach the crash site of Eggman's robot.

The three start to see a giant badnik emerge from its egg-shaped capsule. The badnik seemed to be a hybrid of a crocodile and octopus robot.

As it towered above them, Tails thought to himself,

'Why does this badnik look so familiar?'

"So what are you supposed to be?" Sonic asked the giant badnik.

Tails finally remembers the badnik and speaks up before it can answer,

"Sonic, I've fought this thing before when I was little. They were separate robots called Crocbot and Octobot."

"Ah, so you do remember us. We were terrifying before, but now that we've combined, we are unstoppable. You will now be slaughtered by me, Croctobot!" the

badnik threatened.

Sonic and Tails stare at each other in silence. After a few seconds, the two crack amused smiles and burst into laughter.

"Croctobot? What a stupid name! This is the most pathetic badnik yet!" Sonic shouted.

He fell on his back laughing with Tails doing the same.

"Hey! Stop laughing! I'm the most horrifying badnik Robotnik has ever built!" Croctobot yelled.

"Ha-ha! Yeah, right! I beat you when I was like, eight! Combining your bodies and names doesn't make you invincible!" Tails chortled.

Shadow frowns at both of the heroes,

"Are you two done messing around?"

Sally finishes locking up the base and looks towards the crash site. Her eyes widen when she sees Sonic and Tails lying on the grass, looking like they're in pain.

"Sonic! Tails!"

The chipmunk immediately turned to her friends,

"Freedom Fighters, let's go help them out!"

"You got it Sally-girl."/"Oui, princess."/"Let's go!/Gotcha!" Bunnie, Antoine, Amy, and Rotor responded respectively.

Fiona says,

"I'll keep an eye on Bean and Bark."

But the others didn't hear her though, as they rush to help Sonic and Tails.

The red fox stared in awe at Shadow's amazing attacks that were being aimed at the badnik,

"Wow, look at him go!"

"Yeah, he sure knows how to put on a light show. Anyways, we'll be seeing ya!" Bean said.

He started to walk away with Bark but Fiona snaps and angrily grabs the green duck,

"You try to blow up my friends and then decide you can just walk away?!"

"Don't kid yourself, Fiona. Those guys aren't your friends and you know it. Why not just come with us? We can have fun like the good old days." Bean insisted.

The female fox freezes up,

"I-I can't! I'm a freedom fighter now!"

Bean escapes Fiona's grip and catches up with Bark,

"You keep telling yourself that! See ya!"

 **Back with the others...**

Sally goes to help Sonic and Tails while the Freedom Fighters support Shadow. As Sally gets closer to the two, she sees them both get up, wiping tears out of their

eyes.

"Sonic, Tails, what happened?" Sally asked.

The duo was still slightly giggling.

Sonic smiles sheepishly at the princess after the laughter died down,

"Sorry, Sal. Eggman's badnik was so pathetic that we couldn't help but laugh."

Sally changes from a concerned expression to an annoyed one,

"Seriously, Sonic?! I thought something happened to you two."

The hedgehog gave the princess a goofy grin,

"We _**almost**_ died from laughter. That counts as something, right?"

Sally tries not to crack a smile and sighs,

"Let's just finish off the badnik."

Right as she says this, two more people start to materialize.

Shadow temporarily knocks out Croctobot on his own and senses the energy,

"That's chaos control."

They all see Rouge and Scourge appear in front of them.

Everyone except Shadow looked confused.

"Who's that with Rouge?" Sally asked.

"Is that Evi-" Sonic started.

Scourge cuts him off while grinning,

"You were about to say Evil Sonic, weren't you? Well I'm not anymore! This nice piece of work is called Scourge." he said, closing his eyes and pointing at himself afterwards.

Sonic's signature smirk appeared,

"Scourge, huh? So you think a new name and green fur-dye will make ya tougher?"

"That and a power boost from the Master Emerald. Knuckles father was in the way tho'. So I had to "convince" him to let me use it." Scourge explained.

The Blue Blur responds smugly,

"I respect Knuckle's father a lot. I'll make sure to put you down for him."

"So quit talkin' and give me your best shot wimp!" Scourge challenged.

Croctobot then reactivates and uses his tentacles to grab the three hedgehogs,

"I still function! You _**WILL**_ fear me!"

The badnik glares intensely at Shadow,

"You're a traitor, Shadow! I think I'll tell Robotnik about your actions here today!"

Shadow frowns in response,

"I think you're mistaken."

Sonic turns his head towards Scourge and asks,

"Quick truce to finish this up?"

"Fine..." Scourge agreed reluctantly.

All three hedgehogs destroy the badnik in half a second with a spin-dash.

"Ha! 'You will fear me' he said." Sonic taunted.

"Now that that's finished…" Scourge started.

The green hedgehog tries to land a surprise punch on Sonic, but the Blue Blur anticipates the "cheap shot" and dodges,

"Nice try, Green!"

They start circling Freedom HQ, matching blow for blow until Sonic decides to jumps. He tries to land an axe-kick (Sonic Eagle) but Scourge intercepts it kick with his

own.

"Get back on the ground!" he yelled as Sonic fell into the dirt face first.

Shadow was thinking to himself while this is happening,

'How did he use Chaos Control? I must know.'

He walks up to Scourge and grabs his jacket,

"I think you've proven your point. Now, I have a question for you."

"What? You want in on this too? All you had to do was ask!" Scourge replied.

Scourge grabbed Shadow's wrist and flung him over his shoulder.

The black hedgehog became livid as he recovers,

"You'll pay dearly for that."

As they both fight, Sally runs to Sonic's side and helps him up,

"You okay, Blue?"

"I'm alright, Sal. I underestimated Scourge's new strength from the Master Emerald." Sonic answered with a pout.

"You underestimating a threat? That's nothing new." Sally teased.

The Blue Blur glared at her,

"Sal… don't start."

Sally giggles at his expression,

" ** _Relax_** , I have a plan. The Freedom Fighters haven't been able to help because of how fast Scourge is moving. He's already used a good

amount of energy so If you can tire him out just a bit more, me and the others can close in and overwhelm him."

Sonic smiles at the princess while running his fingers through her red hair,

"Sounds good to me. Let's do it-"

"-to it." Sally finished.

Scourge and Shadow continue fighting up close, both starting to pant lightly. Shadow is able to knock Scourge away with a chaos spear, giving Sonic time to come to

his side.

"Let's finish this, faker." Sonic said.

"Hmph. Took you long enough." Shadow replied.

Sonic and Shadow both spin dash towards Scourge, with Scourge then doing the same. All three clash together for five seconds and then fly back.

Sally notices that all three hedgehogs are sweating as they recover and yelled,

"Freedom Fighters! Attack now!"

Everyone starts to close in on Scourge and Rouge as well. While Amy and Bunnie approach the doppleganger from one side, Tails catches him off guard and punches

him in the back of the head.

"Got him!" the yellow fox cheered.

"You twerp!" Scourge shouted.

Scourge attempts to chase the young fox, however the princess prevents this with a kick to his chest. Rouge tries to help out but the constant pressure from Fiona,

Bunnie, Amy and Antoine was too much to handle.

"Scourge, we're being overwhelmed! We have to get out of here! **Right now**!" Rouge demanded.

Scourge starts growling,

"This isn't over, Blue!"

Sonic smiled smugly,

"I know it isn't. But I'll always be ready for you, Green."

Scourge grabs Rouge's hand and speeds off into the forest.

"Use Chaos Control again to get us back to Angel Island." Rouge suggested.

"I need the Master Emerald or a Chaos Emerald to do that." Scourged replied.

The bat's eyes widened in anger,

"Are you serious?!"

"Just chill out and hold on." he reassured her.

Shadow starts to give chase, which Rouge immediately notices,

"Scourge, pick up the pace! Shadow is gaining on us!"

"If you weren't holding me back, I could!" he yelled.

Suddenly a warp ring portal shows up in front of them.

Scourge asks,

"Should we?"

Rouge replies simply with,

"YES!"

Shadow barely misses them as they teleport away. He glared at the spot they disappeared from with a furious grimace, then headed back to New Megaopolis knowing

there was nothing he could do.

 **At Freedom HQ...**

Sonic sauntered towards Sally with that iconic grin of his. When he gets close, he gently pulls her into a three second kiss, making the princess blush a bright red. He

was always so good at catching her off guard!

"Good plan, Sal." he said.

Tails spots Fiona on the ground and helps her up, earning a thank you and a pet on the head from her.

Amy picked up a piece of wreckage from the HQ with an upset expression,

"There goes all the hard work we did tidying this place up..."

Rotor adds,

"Sonic, I swear we'll have a more beefed up defense system next time so this doesn't happen again."

Sally holds Sonic close while looking at the ground sadly,

"This birthday really didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, Blue. We're sorry."

Sonic grins,

"Don't be so glum, guys. Even though I got a little roughed up, I thought this birthday was awesome! Also, you gotta remember that because of the location of our

new headquarters, the three surprise attacks happened here instead of at Knothole, so our families are safe. We've all been through some heavy stuff in the past, but

we always get through it. And we'll continue to do so because we're the Freedom Fighters!"

Everyone smiles after hearing Sonic's small speech and Sally leans her head on his shoulder.

The chipmunk smirks at her blue partner,

"You certainly have a way with words, Sonic."

Sonic's grin changed to a flirtatious smile,

"So, shall we go somewhere more private?" he copied her question from earlier.

Sally sighs,

"Sure... but you owe me a massage after that scare you and Tails gave me. I'm all tensed up after today."

Sonic chuckles and starts rubbing her shoulders from behind,

"I'm already on it, Sal."

 **Elsewhere, Rouge and Scourge jump out of the warp ring portal, ending up in some ancient ruins...**

Rouge scanned the room,

"This is a strange looking place. Where do you think we are?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one who brought us here." Scourge grumbled.

"No, I brought you here." said a voice from behind.

They turn to see a white echidna in a black cape, sitting down.

Rouge raises an eyebrow,

"Thanks, I guess but… who are you?"

Scourge adds,

"Yeah, what's the deal? Why did ya bring us here?"

The white echidna stands up,

"I'm Doctor Finitevus. I brought you two here hoping you'd join me in my ambitions."

Scourge starts to walk away and says,

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have to go plan my revenge on that blue chump."

"You mean Sonic? I assure you, my plan will make him and his friends suffer." Finitevus informed him.

"You just said the magic words. So when do we get started?!" Scourge asked, rubbing his hands together.

Finitevus grew a malicious grin,

"In due time Scourge, but first we must remain vigilant. There's a storm coming and we must wait it out."

 **End**


	4. Deceitful Bats and Secretive Foxes

Once again we're jumping ahead; I'm skipping issues 162-164 because they only need extremely small changes to fit in my timeline. I'm also skipping 166 and 167

because they focus on Mobius 25 years later. I feel like if an issue only needs a few things changed then there is no point in redoing it. I'll just list off the changes

below and their effect on the timeline.

· So obviously since Sonic is still Sally's consort in this timeline there are no Sonic and Fiona moments. Fiona only becomes acquaintances with the Freedom Fighters.

· Anonymous's plan still happens. Meaning the spider ninjas still destroy some of Eggman's egg grapes and use the Sword of Acorns that Sally gave them (in issue 111)

to destroy the Ancient Walkers, releasing Ixis Naugus and Mammoth Mogul.

· Sir Connery gets fatally wounded by Mogul and gives Sally the Sword of Light. He tells her with his dying breath, that Sonic needs to use it to destroy "The Source of

All". Sally tells Sonic quickly and Sonic then defeats Mogul by breaking the Sword of Acorns and the crown. With this "The Source of All" is gone. Eggman then comes

with his Egg Fleet and zaps Mogul, the Destructix, and Naugus which teleports them to his reserve egg grapes. Sally, Sonic, and Elias then mourn the death of Sir

Connery with Elias saying he would honor his death. They leave with Tails and his uncle Merlin.

 **Deceitful** **Bats and Secretive Foxes (Issue 165 Redone)**

 **It was a windy afternoon on the planet Mobius...**

Sally and Sonic are seen walking with Fiona to an interrogation room at Freedom HQ. The female fox had agreed to give some information on Rouge the Bat.

In the interrogation room, Mighty, Ray, and Espio are ready to listen to the information Fiona is about to leak.

"We appreciate you doing this, Fiona. Just know that anything that is said in this room, stays in this room." Mighty reassured her.

Fiona nods at Mighty, looking tense.

Sally put a reassuring hand on the vixen's shoulder,

"It's alright, Fiona. No one is going to judge you here. We're not all angels."

"Yeah, I've done plenty of dumb things in the past." Sonic added.

Sally grows a smirk,

"No kidding."

The Blue Blur's ear twitches and he raises an eyebrow,

"I heard that, Sal."

Sally giggles at his response, causing the hedgehog to pout.

Fiona breathes in deeply and begins to speak,

"Rouge is the best of the best at what she does. It doesn't matter if it's spying, stealing, or fighting. She becomes great at anything she puts her mind to. Back then,

me and her have had many encounters. The first time I ran into her was when I entered an illegal fighting tournament. I had to fight her one on one in the finals but...

she ended up beating me. Badly. After that, I tried to steal treasure and jewelry to get by in life, but anytime I got even close to getting anything, Rouge beat me

to it. Many, _**many**_ times. Ancient treasure, jewel shops, vaults, It didn't matter. She beat me to all of them."

Mighty smiles at her,

"Thanks for being honest, Fiona. That's all we need."

 **About an hour later...**

In the same interrogation room. Rouge sits by herself with Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Vector standing around her.

"Alright, Rouge. Let's get started." Vector said as he turned on the light.

Rouge frowns,

"I asked for help. I didn't come to be interrogated."

"Tough luck. You're known around here for having a checkered reputation, so we gotta play things safe." Vector said.

Rouge then looks up at Knuckles coquettishly,

"Hey, Knux. You're the one in charge, right? Think you can make this go away?"

Knuckles replies coldly,

"Not happening."

Vector stares Rouge down with hands on his hips,

"Sonic and Tails told us you ended up outside using a warp ring, which is odd."

Rouge shrugs,

"How else was I going to get here fast enough? Nack wouldn't let me borrow his Marvelous Queen."

Julie-Su gave Rouge a critical look,

"Don't change the subject! How did you get a warp ring? That technology is limited only to echidnas!"

"Why should I tell you?" the G.U.N. Agent asked, turning her head stubbornly.

Knuckles growls,

"If you want us to help you out, we need to know who or what we are dealing with."

"Ha! Funny to hear that from _**you**._ I guess the lamp isn't the only bright one in here." the bat taunted all of them.

"Well, there'll be an even brighter one in your cell." Vector responded.

"So Knothole now imprisons innocent people?!" Rouge scolded.

The croc pulls out a folder with a bunch of compiled evidence.

"Don't use that word, Rouge. Sonic and Sally convinced Fiona to tell us about your shady past. She told us how you beat her in

an illegal tournament and how you snagged a bunch of treasure before she herself could steal it. So what's it gonna be? Tell us whatcha know, or imprisonment?"

Rouge angrily lowered her head in defeat,

"Fine. I'll fill you in from when I was last here. Deal?"

Vector glances at Julie-Su and Knuckles causing them both to nod at him.

"Deal." he agreed.

Rouge sighs,

"After being overwhelmed by the Freedom Fighters, me and Scourge tried to retreat back to Angel Island. But Shadow was tailing us and we had nowhere else

to run until a warp ring appeared out of nowhere. We jumped through it to escape, which warped us to the quarters of a crazy scientist called Dr. Finitevus. He wanted

us to help him out because we owed him for the save. So we used warp rings to infiltrate Robotnik's egg grapes and free whatever remained of the Destructix.

Finitevus then brought us to a base protected by an ancient robot called "Isaac". He tried to steal the data from the robot, but most of it was corrupt. His plan

to control a bunch of ancient missiles, potentially devastating the entire planet. I didn't like that, so I destroyed them before he could get a chance. He got really upset,

so I stole a warp ring from him and came here to you guys."

The bat stares at Knuckles once more,

"See? I can be a good girl."

Julie-Su was seething. She did **_not_** like the way she was glancing at her partner.

"Did anybody follow you?" Knuckles asked.

"Most likely." Rouge replied, shrugging afterwards.

 **Elsewhere, Sally and Sonic walk with Fiona out of Freedom HQ five minutes after Rouge's interrogation...**

Sally smiles gently and says,

"You did a good thing, Fiona. We don't think any less of you."

"Yeah, cheer up, Fi. You did good back there." Sonic agreed.

"Thanks." Fiona said, smiling faintly.

The red vixen started to stare at Sonic anxiously,

"Sonic, you forgave the other girls for mistaking Scourge for you, right?"

"Of course. It was my fault for letting that poser ambush me in the first place. I'm just glad he didn't hit on Sal, since she was still under a lot of pressure from running

Knothole city the time." Sonic answered.

He pulled the chipmunk closer to him, earning a kiss on the cheek from her.

"Oh... okay." Fiona muttered.

This question came out of nowhere, making Sally skeptical,

"Why do you ask, Fiona?"

"Well…" Fiona starts but then all three of them notice Tails standing still against the tree.

The princess immediately became worried,

"Tails, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Sally. They snuck up behind me and… and-" Tails stammered before Sleuth Dog cut him off.

"Shut it, kid." he ordered before looking at Sally.

"Salutations, Princess Sally."

Sally's grimace appeared at the sight of the Mobian dog,

"What are you doing here, Sleuth? And how did you escape from Dr. Robotnik?"

Sonic intervenes,

"If you don't let go of my lil bro—"

Suddenly, he gets carried away by a green blur and into a tree.

"Round two! Let's go wuss!" Scourge taunted.

"Fine by me, moron!" Sonic retorted..

They both took off into the distance.

"Sonic!" Sally yelled.

'Damn... I can't help him. Scourge is too fast for me.' she thought.

She focuses her attention back on Sleuth.

The dog had a flat expression on his face,

"I told that idiot to wait…"

Fiona and Sally start to approach him slowly.

"Let Tails go, Sleuth." the princess ordered.

"Take another step and I WILL shoot the kid." Sleuth threatened.

They both stop reluctantly, with the princess soon letting out a frustrated sigh,

"What do you want?"

Sleuth smirks,

"It's simple. I came here for the bat traitor and the thing she stole."

Hearing this made the chipmunk scoff,

"How ironic that you're looking for a traitor, considering you betrayed us yourself."

Sleuth's grin grew wide,

"Very true, but I'm not the only traitor among you right now."

Fiona tries to stay calm, knowing that he's talking about her. Tails notices her sudden shift in expression but doesn't speak up.

'What is he talking about?' Sally thought with a puzzled expression.

"Look, all I want is the warp ring so I can get it back to my boss. Give me that and I'll let the kid go." Sleuth offered.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Scourge continue battling around the forest.

"Y'know, as much as I like kicking you around. I'd like to know why you're here." Sonic said, kicking Scourge in the face.

"First, I want some revenge!" Scourge replied, punching Sonic in his own face.

The green hedgehog pinned the Blue Blur into the ground, grinning mischievously,

"Second, I wanted to see my girl Fiona. I love how she pretends to care about you guys. Bein' a Freedom Fighter and all."

This enrages Sonic and he uses a tornado attack to blow Scourge into a tree,

"You're wrong! Fiona is our friend! She would never go out with a bozo like you!"

He held Scourge up by the jacket with one hand, ready to punch with the other.

Scourge shrugs, keeping his evil grin,

"Whatever you say, Blue."

"Sonic!" both Fiona and Sally called to him.

"We made a deal, Sonic. You can stop fighting now." Sally told him.

The Blue Blur releases his dark counterpart and looks at the chipmunk with bewilderment,

"What?"

"We told him about the interrogation we had with Rouge. He said he'll leave if he gets the stolen warp ring back." she answered, averting her eyes to the side in

irritation.

"Better listen, Sonic. I'm running out of patience." Sleuth said, still holding Tails hostage.

Sonic didn't even hesitate to leave, stating,

"One sec."

He heads to Knothole and back within ten seconds.

"Here's your stupid ring. Now let Tails go." Sonic ordered.

"Gladly." Sleuth replied.

Scourge walks past Fiona, winking at her to which she returns. Tails notices this as well but still decides not to say anything for some reason. The two villains both

vanish thanks to the warp ring.

Sally sadly stared at the troubled young fox, her maternal side beginning to show as she gently embraces him,

"Tails... are you alright?"

Tails hugs her back weakly, feeling ashamed of himself,

"I'm fine, Sally... Sorry for getting kidnapped... It's my fault that we lost the warp ring..."

Sally tightens the hug a little, closing her eyes with a sympathetic smile,

"Aww, it's okay honey. You don't need to beat yourself up. I'm just glad nothing happened to you."

"I should've paid more attention, though. I would've been able to stop him if I did." the yellow fox argued.

Sonic smiles softly and puts his arms around both his "brother" and his girl,

"Sal's right, lil bro. There's no need to angst up. So what if the jerk caught you off guard this time. Next time you'll be ready for him. Right?"

"I will!" Tails confirmed.

At the sounds of these words the Blue Blur smirks,

"That's the spirit! Remember that you always gotta live and learn, bud."

Fiona stares at the display of affection from the three. They look like a family and she felt left out. The fox's eyes fell towards the ground in sadness.

"How you holding up, Fi?" Sonic asked.

Fiona looks up with a soft smile,

"I'm... I'm fine."

"Awesome! Then let's head on home, Freedom Fighters!" the hedgehog cheered.

He had his arms around Sally and Tails as they walk back to Knothole with Fiona following.

 **Back at the interrogation room, Rouge was still being held prisoner...**

"I don't get why you're still keeping me here. I have nothing else to say." Rouge said, giving the others a bored look.

"I know that you're not telling us everything." Knuckles stated.

"The deal was I fill you in from when I was last here. I've said everything I needed to." the bat reminded him.

Knuckles and Vector leave the room in response.

The red echidna growls,

"What a waste of time. I know she's not telling us something."

"Chill out, Knux. At the very least the info on Finitevus will be useful." Vector reassured.

Rouge looks in Knuckles direction, smirking. This makes Julie-Su snap, as she kicks the chair from under Rouge and grabs her hand aggressively.

"I don't like the way you're looking at Knuckles, Rouge! He's my boyfriend and soulmate, not yours! If you even think of trying to take him away from, you'll seriously

regret it!" Julie-Su threatened.

Rouge quickly grabs both of the pink echidna's wrists and overpowers her.

She then remarks,

"It's adorable that you think you can stop me from stealing things. Besides, if Knuckles is so faithful, then you have nothing to worry about right?"

"Let go of me! You b-" Julie-Su starts but Rouge cuts her off by kneeing her chest.

"It's bat and don't forget it." she said.

"I won't." Julie-Su replied, picking herself up.

"That's what I thought. I'll see you later than, sweetie." Rouge stated with a mischievous grin as she leaves the room and closes the door.

 **End**


	5. Order From Chaos

Alright so now we're going to do the Anonymous saga in one story. Obviously I'm skipping issues 166 and 167 because they focus on "Mobius 25 years later" which is

an entirely different timeline. I hope you enjoy. For those that have continued to read this series, thank you. Also one major change in this redone story is that instead

of having a ton of chaos emeralds based on each of the 7 colors, spread across the universe. There are only 7 emeralds like the games. The emeralds are all on Mobius

too instead of spread across the universe because I found that incredibly stupid and I wanted to simplify things.

 **Order from Chaos (Issues 168 and 169 Redone)**

 **Sonic enters the Freedom HQ lab, looking somewhat annoyed. He hoped his friends knew where Tommy Turtle was since he took some of his reserve power**

 **rings without his permission...**

Tails and Rotor notice him, while Sally is too distracted using Nicole in the corner. The fox and walrus were just as annoyed as the Blue Blur, but both smiled softly when

he entered the room.

"Hey, Sonic. What's up?" Tails asked.

Sonic glanced at them both,

"Have any of you seen Tommy? The dude took some of my power rings and bailed."

Rotor answers Sonic's question with his own look of frustration,

"Nope. I haven't seen him at all, and it's a good thing too. He destroyed all the nanite research we've done so far by "cleaning" the petri dishes."

Tails lifts up a bunch of destroyed machine parts,

"And he also messed up my latest project."

The hedgehog looks up at the ceiling and sighs,

"He's been acting strange ever since those nanites got in his shell and it's starting to bug me."

Sonic finally noticed Sally in the corner, looking super focused while using Nicole.

He comes up to the chipmunk with a soft smile,

"Hey."

She jumps in shock and let's out a cute little squeak.

When she sees that it's Sonic, she blushes in embarrassment,

"Umm... hey."

Sonic snickered at her reaction,

"You seemed pretty lost in your research. Everything cool?"

"Not really, Blue. My attention has been very split. On one hand, I'm trying to figure out how to get my father out of his coma. On the other hand, Fiona has been

disappearing a lot lately, which is making me suspicious." Sally explained.

Tails tenses up hearing Fiona's name since he knows her secret.

Sonic put both of his hands on Sally's shoulders,

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed she's been missing in action. You wanna go look for her?"

"No. Right now I want to focus on Tommy. Apparently he's missing as well?" Sally asked.

"Correct. We think his strange behavior is possibly a result of the nanites that infected his shell." Rotor answered.

Sonic grows a look of concern and crosses his arms,

"I just hope nothing bad happened to him. He can be a real trouble magnet."

 **At Dr. Robotnik's base...**

Eggman is in the middle of deleting his digital son, A.D.A.M. He had figured out that the virus was secretly sabotaging his plans for months under the alias of

"Anonymous".

"Well, A.D.A.M. I do believe that I have found out who that troublesome Anonymous is. Now I can finally destroy him." Eggman stated.

"Congratulations, father. Anonymous has been a major nuisance for quite some time. But may I ask why you are erasing me from your hard drive?" A.D.A.M said in his

robotic voice.

"I said Anonymous is going down." Eggman answered.

"What do you mean, father?" A.D.A.M asked.

The evil doctor stood up and glared at the monitor,

"Don't play dumb with me A.D.A.M, I'm not stupid. I know that you're Anonymous."

He then raises his voice and points at the computer screen,

"It was **YOU** who sent the Metal Destructix and the fake video of their capture! It was **YOU** who created that spire using my nanites! **YOU** were the one

who let the spider ninjas in here to destroy my egg grapes! And because of you, Mammoth Mogul and that troublesome wizard have been released! After I captured

them both, I spied on you and found out that you stole Mogul's chaos emerald before releasing both HIM AND NAUGUS!"

"You were spying on me father? I don't like that!" A.D.A.M stated.

"WHAT?! You don't like that?! I'll tell you what I don't like! I don't like how you framed my robot daughter, Mecha, forcing me to destroy her! I don't like that you sent Sir Charles' Metal Sonic troopers after me! And I don't like how you released two of my most hated enemies! **YOU** were Anonymous this entire time! And for all the damage you've caused, I'm deleting you from existence! You treasonous waste of coding!" Eggman yelled.

"There is no need for such insults, father." A.D.A.M replied.

"I'll insult you as much as much as I like! Now shut up and get deleted already!"

After taking a breather, the doctor calmed down and became melancholy,

"He's gone. Both of my artificial children wiped from existence. Such a waste..."

A.D.A.M's robotic voice is then heard from behind Eggman, making his skin crawl,

"That was an audacious endeavor, my father. But I managed to download myself to one final place."

It was A.D.A.M.'s voice, but it came from a turtle-like body.

The metallic turtle grabbed the mad scientist while continuing to talk,

"Thanks to me manipulating Tommy Turtle, he has helped me spread my corrupted nanites to infect a few specific beings. They will be the ones to help me complete my

master plan."

 **Freedom HQ lab...**

A.D.A.M's nanites start to infect Nicole, causing her to malfunction.

Sonic watched as her monitor slowly went black,

"Huh? What's happening, Nicole?"

"Corrupted nanites 'Kzzt' are infecting 'Kzzt' my systems 'Kzzt' trying to 'Kzzt' absolve them." Nicole replied.

Suddenly, Bunnie loses control of her robotic limbs and she destroys the monitor Nicole was talking through,

"Oh mah stars! Ah'm so sorry, Nicole!"

She then punches Tails out of the room.

"Somebody please stop me! Ah can't control mah body!" the rabbit screamed out.

Knuckles, Mighty, and Vector come in and hold her down, all three of them looking distraught while doing so.

Rotor then deactivates her robotic parts with his omni-tool,

"I'm sorry, Bunnie. It looks like I'm going to have to disable your limbs until we can cure them."

Bunnie starts to tear up,

"It's alright... just please stop me from hurtin' anyone else…"

"Don't cry, Bunnie. I promise I'll have you and Nicole fixed up in no time." the walrus reassured.

"Wait! Which direction did you knock Tails in, Bunnie?" Sonic asked.

"Jules, stop!" yelled a familiar voice from outdoors.

The hedgehog hears the screaming and quickly leaves the HQ. When he gets outside, he sees that it was Sally who was screaming. The chipmunk was trying to stop

the hedgehog's father from taking Tails away.

"Dad?! What are you doing?!" Sonic yelled.

He gets no answer. The Robian is an empty shell that was brainwashed by A.D.A.M.

Sonic felt his anger rising,

"The sicko who's doing this just made things personal."

The princess ran back to him and stated,

"Sonic, we should follow him from a distance. He'll probably lead us to the one responsible."

The Blue Blur frowns at the suggestion,

"Why do that when I can easily stop him now?"

"Because he'll hurt Tails if you come near him. I tried to loosen his grip but he only tightened it. If he puts anymore pressure on Tails body, he'll crush

him." Sally explained.

Sonic sighed in defeat, realizing what was at stake,

"We better hurry up then. He's almost at the city exit."

They both start to run after the brainwashed Robian until they end up at least twenty feet behind him.

"Remember what I taught you about slowing down, Blue. We can't afford to give away our position. It'll only make things harder for us." Sally whispered.

Sonic smiled, wanting to lighten the mood a little,

"I getcha, Sal. We gotta be stealthy. Like a ninja."

The sentence made the princess smile back in amusement,

"Mmmhmm. Exactly like that."

 **Meanwhile at A.D.A.M's nanite city...**

A.D.A.M takes Robotnik hostage and imitates his voice, telling Shadow to meet him at the city's spire.

About five minutes later, an irritated black hedgehog dashes towards the spire and skids to a stop,

"What's your problem, doctor? First you command me to stop Mogul and Naugus , and now you want me here? You need to make up

your…"

He stops talking as A.D.A.M reveals he's restraining Robotnik's hands and mouth,

"-mind?" he finished.

Shadow points at the metallic turtle,

"Who the hell are you?"

A.D.A.M throws Eggman away and answers Shadow with a claw swipe,

"Welcome, Shadow."

Shadow dodges his claw, backing up in the process.

"I need you to help me complete my plan."

Shadow recognizes the voice and asks,

"You're A.D.A.M, I can tell by your voice. But you're using a host. Which Mobian are you controlling?"

"Tommy Turtle, Sonic's naive friend. He's been an excellent double agent." A.D.A.M answered.

Shadow tosses a chaos spear straight at A.D.A.M., but the computer virus creates a nanite shield to absorb the explosion it produced. The virus catches Shadow as he

recovers with a punch to the chin.

The hedgehog stumbled only for half a second before yelling,

"Chaos Blast!"

A wave of chaos energy travels towards A.D.A.M, but once again he creates a larger nanite shield to take the blast.

'This is starting to look dire. I'm going to have to fight up close.' Shadow thought.

He closed in on A.D.A.M. and grappled with him. They both push against each other with their hands raised slightly above their shoulders. While this is happening,

A.D.A.M grows an extra claw and grabs Shadow's leg, stretching his arm upwards and slamming him into the ground with incredible force.

"Tommy has been an amazing hiding spot while my father was figuring out who Anonymous was. I've turned him into the most powerful Mobian alive." A.D.A.M said,

pulling an unconscious Shadow from the ground.

"Even more powerful than the supposed ultimate life form."

As this scuffle is happening, a certain couple is seen spectating from behind a building not too far away.

Sally turns her head towards Sonic, looking frightened,

"He made Shadow look like a complete pushover. I don't know how I feel about this, Sonic."

Sonic was more angered than scared by what he just watched,

"I feel so stupid. I should've known something was fishy as soon as Tommy started acting weird. I knew about the nanites but didn't do anything about it."

Sally strokes the hedgehog's quills in an attempt to calm him down.

"We all knew about the nanites, Blue. Not just you."

Sonic shook his head,

"Still, I can't stand here and watch him use my father and Tommy like puppets. I'm going in!"

The hedgehog tries dashing off, but the princess grabs his arm,

"Listen, I know how you feel. I was angry when Robotnik used my father to try and destroy Knothole (During the Endgame Incident). But you need to have self-control.

Please, just wait a bit longer. I hear him talking again."

"Fine, Sal. Only a little longer, though." Sonic agreed reluctantly with a pout.

A.D.A.M starts to speak to Robotnik again,

"I knew you would discover my plan eventually, father. But I also knew you would be too late to stop me. I don't have too much time to spare, so I shall explain the

plan briefly. Through your technology, I was able to research and discover that there are seven gems of unlimited power called chaos emeralds on the planet. In order

to draw them to this location, I need two specific Mobians of incredible power. I need Shadow's super form so I can use his amplified chaos control as a beacon. And the chosen one known as "Turbo Tails"."

As he said this, Jules brings an unconscious Tails to A.D.A.M.

Sonic's eyes flare up when he's spots his father handing Tails over. Sally stared at him again with concern.

A.D.A.M places Shadow and Tails in their respective capsules.

"I had Mogul tell me about this so called prophecy before releasing him. He explained to me that Tails is foretold to lead the gathering of the seven chaos emeralds

and bring about the Great Harmony. With this knowledge, I built a city to hide the spire needed for said gathering. Then I manipulated Tommy and used him to weaken

the Freedom Fighters, allowing me to acquire Tails. And finally, I released Mogul and Naugus to keep Shadow occupied until I needed him. As you can see, the plan

came together perfectly."

While the computer virus was spouting exposition, Eggman had remotely triggered his Egg Fleet.

"And I thought I was deranged. This plot sounds needlessly complex and convoluted." the doctor mocked.

The nanites that infected Jules start to leave his system, allowing him to speak,

"My son won't let you get away with this!"

"It doesn't matter what your son does, Jules. I'm too powerful to be stopped by him. You, however, I have no use for. Now go somewhere and self-destruct for me."

A.D.A.M. instructed.

The virus then gave Eggman a deadpanned frown,

"Incidentally, I know you remotely summoned your Egg Fleet, father. It's rather amusing that you thought I wasn't paying attention."

The doctor gulped and began sweating, confirming A.D.A.M.'s suspicions.

"It makes no difference, however. They will arrive too late."

A.D.A.M out of nowhere punches Eggman with extreme force, sending him into a wall at a high speed and knocking him out temporarily.

Subsequently, the spire activates, causing Shadow and Tails to scream out in pain as they're forced to turn super.

"With this spire acting as a beacon, I will have all seven chaos emeralds in my grasp!"

Jules walks away from A.D.A.M's location after being fully released from the nanites' control.

Once the Robian got far enough, he falls over on his back.

Sonic and Sally frantically rush to his side, yelling, "Dad/Jules!" respectively.

Sonic leans down with small tears in his eyes while Sally is on the other side holding Jules' hand.

"You okay, pops?" Sonic asked.

"I'm alright, son. The infected nanites are just leaving a toll on me." he reassured.

The Blue Blur squeezes his father's metallic hand lightly,

"I promise, after we save Tails and Tommy, we'll come back for you."

"Wait... A.D.A.M, he-"

Sally cuts Jules off with a soothing voice,

"Don't worry, Jules. Me and Sonic heard the entire thing. You just rest here for now."

The father nods his head, allowing the duo to head towards the spire.

Sonic glanced at his teammate with a raised eyebrow,

"Sal, do you have a plan by chance?"

Sally smirks at him,

"Actually, I do."

"Let me hear it. I'm all ears."

"It's nothing too complicated, actually. If he's planning to bring all the chaos emeralds together, then we can use that to our advantage. If I remember correctly, you

yourself turn super when you harness them. So I suggest we split up. I'll free Tails and Shadow while you get through A.D.A.M and secure the emeralds." Sally

explained.

Her suggestion made the hedgehog smirk back,

"I like it. Simple and to the point."

The princess felt her smile fading away, turning in a sad pout,

"The only thing I haven't figured out is how we're going to free Tommy from A.D.A.M's control..."

"We'll figure it out once we stop him."

Sonic said before putting his fist out,

"For now, let's do it to it!"

Sally's smile faintly returned and she fist bumps with him,

"Let's do it, partner."

After this, they both split off in different directions.

Sonic sees A.D.A.M near Shadow's capsule and rushes towards him,

"Yo, A.D.A.M!"

The virus turns around,

"Ah, it's about time you showed up. We've been waiting for you." A.D.A.M said.

Sonic spin dashes towards A.D.A.M,

"Whatever, chrome dome… wait, what do you mean **_we've_**?"

A.D.A.M blocks his spin dash and states,

"I'm only controlling Tommy's body, Sonic. He is still alive and conscious."

The Blue Blur growls,

"What's the point of doing all this?" he asked while sliding underneath A.D.A.M's claw swipe.

"I'm fulfilling my function. Once you and the others are destroyed, my father will be so very proud of me. That's why I had him destroy Mecha. He will love me best!"

A.D.A.M clarified.

Sonic raises an eyebrow,

"Are you kidding me? Eggman managed to build a computer virus that's even more depressing then Shadow? Heh, he really **_is_** a genius..."

The hedgehog finally manages to score a hard kick to A.D.A.M's face, pushing the virus away.

"Alright, I think it's time I whip out the ol' Sonic Wave."

Sonic tries to charge up his attack but stopped instantly when A.D.A.M revealed Tommy's face.

"T-Tommy?"

A.D.A.M takes advantage of this and punches the hedgehog in the muzzle,

"Augh!" Sonic yelped in pain as he's sent flying away.

"Your weakness to not harm the innocent will be your downfall, Sonic." A.D.A.M taunted.

The Blue Blur crashes right into the wall next to Eggman, causing the doctor to regain consciousness. Sonic immediately gets up and pretends to rush towards

the virus again. A.D.A.M takes the bait and shows Tommy's face again. However, Sonic swerves around him and touches the chaos emeralds, turning super instantly.

The golden rodent now had a confident grin,

"Time to deal with this, Super Sonic style!" he yelled, not noticing that A.D.A.M had transformed into his super form shortly afterwards.

"Two can play at this game."

Now that both of them are in the sky, Sally is finally able to safely get to Tails and Shadow.

She unlocks their capsules and backs up.

"Tails?" she asked.

Tails simply gets out and firmly states,

"Thanks, Sally."

"What's happening right now?" Shadow asked.

"A.D.A.M and Sonic have both turned super! Sonic is going to need your help!" Sally answered.

"Understood, I know what must be done. Shadow, are you willing to lend some assistance?" Tails asked.

Shadow turns towards Tails and nods,

"Yes, but... what do you plan on doing?"

"That much power can't exist on this planet. We must send it to a safe place." Tails answered.

The two fly to the top of the spire, leaving Sally alone. Eventually, Eggman ends up right beside her.

Sally glares up at him,

"Don't try anything funny around me, Robotnik. I'll knock you unconscious again if you do." she warned, entering a martial arts stance.

"Relax, princess. I'm not trying to destroy you right now. I just need your annoying boyfriend to distract A.D.A.M long enough until my Egg Fleet arrives. Then I can blast

that digital double crosser off the map!" Eggman yelled.

Sally scolds him,

"If there is a chance to save Tommy, we will!"

Eggman chuckles lightly,

"He's heavily infected, princess. It's too late for him."

"Y-you're wrong!"

The doctor then breaks out into full laughter.

Up in the sky, Tails turns his head towards Shadow,

"Can you open a portal to the Zone of Silence? That's the only alternate dimension that I know about and I believe it's our safest option."

Shadow nods,

"Chaos control!" he yelled, opening the portal.

"Hnng! This drains a lot of my power, what's the next step of your plan?"

Tails gathers the seven emeralds and sends them in the portal,

"I'm fulfilling the prophecy and sending the emeralds to a place where they are unified. This will be the beginning of the Great Harmony."

After sending the emeralds away, the portal disappears slowly,

"Do you know what will happen with the energy? The Zone of Silence is extremely unstable." Shadow asked.

"Only time will tell..." Tails answered.

A.D.A.M saw the emeralds disappear and yelled with animosity,

"How?! Who is responsible for this?!"

The virus spots Tails and Shadow on the ground, reverting back to their normal forms, then turns back towards the golden hedgehog,

"It doesn't matter if the emeralds are gone. I'm still unstoppable in this state."

Sonic smirks,

"You have no clue how super forms work, do you? You're on a timer now, buddy. Without the emeralds or a healthy supply of power rings, you'll revert back

eventually."

"Then I may as well use this time to destroy your precious friends." A.D.A.M. threatened.

The virus desperately tries going after Sally and Tails but Sonic headbutts him,

"Nuh-uh, no touchy. You're fighting me now, remember?"

A.D.A.M. was about to attack Sonic back, but the two revert to normal and land on the ground.

The Egg Fleet hovers over both of them, prompting Eggman to grow a huge grin,

"YES! Good job, rodent! Egg Fleet-"

Sally tackles the doctor before he can give the order, covering his mouth.

"Don't say another word."

Unfortunately for the princess, Eggman had a backup plan. The mad scientist pulls out a remote and presses "FIRE!".

Sally immediately gets off of the doctor and frantically looks around for Sonic before the Fleet received the command... But it was too late...

The Egg Fleet unleashed it's full barrage of fire, destroying Tommy along with A.D.A.M instantly.

Sonic, unable to do anything, was forced to watch his friend get blasted right in front of him. He didn't even get a chance to say good-bye.

The hedgehog looks at the ashes Tommy left behind with wide eyes, staying silent. His face was one of disbelief as he grits his teeth and clenches the ashes.

Eggman yells, "Bull's-eye!" and then turned to Shadow in half a second,

"Let's get out of here quickly, Shadow. I don't want to deal with those three right now."

Shadow nods and they both run away, leaving a traumatized Sally and Tails behind.

Sonic, still clenching the dust, walks towards the sobbing Sally and Tails with small tears in his own eyes,

"T-Tommy…" Tails stuttered.

"This is all that's left of him..." the hedgehog muttered.

He opens his hand, showing his two friends Tommy's ashes. They all just stare at the ashes, thinking of the good times they had with the turtle. Eventually

a random gust blows them away, causing the three to hug each other in search of comfort. They all embraced for a few minutes.

"He's gone...and we can't even give him a proper burial..." Sally sniffed.

Sonic eyes the ground bitterly,

"I should've paid attention more when those nanites got in his shell. I didn't think it was a big deal... but it was. And now Tommy's done for..."

The princess rubs his back and speaks up,

"Don't take the brunt of the blame, Blue. We all could've said something."

"She's right, Sonic. If anyone's to blame, it's Robotnik." Tails agreed, looking up at him with tear stained eyes. Sonic looks into both of their eyes and closes his own for

a few seconds.

'I gotta... stay positive...' he thought.

He looks back at his two teammates,

"Alright..." he started.

He kissed Sally's cheek and petted Tails on the head. The hedgehog then gazes at the moon with a sad smile,

"Then we'll just have to fight harder. For Tommy's sake." he finished.

"Let's go get your father and head home, Sonic." Sally advised.

They walk towards where they left Jules, holding hands with Tails in between them.

 **End**


	6. Fallen Heroes

**Fallen Heroes (Issue 170 Redone)**

 **It's been an hour since Sonic, Sally, and Tails returned from New Megaopolis after the loss of Tommy Turtle...**

Their first priority was dropping off Jules at his house since the robotic hedgehog insisted that he felt drained from the corrupted nanites leaving his body earlier. Then

Sonic and Sally took Tails home and stuck around until he fell asleep. The poor fox was still shaken from the tragedy and was scared of being alone. Soon, the

chipmunk and hedgehog were alone, and Sonic, being the cool dude that he is, walked her back to Castle Acorn.

When they get there, the Blue Blur states with a tired smile,

"Here we are, Sal. Sleep tight."

He was about to leave, but felt the princess softly grip his arm. When he turns around, he finds himself staring into Sally's sapphire eyes. Her expression was one of

discomfort and sorrow. What he didn't know, was what she had on her mind. The princess was also afraid of being alone tonight, but she didn't want to outright say it.

"Wait, Sonic. Can you please stay with me tonight? I have something important that I'd like to discuss with you in private." the chipmunk pleaded.

Sonic looked her in the eyes for few more seconds before smiling softly,

"Alright, Sal. I'll sleepover tonight."

Sally smiles back with relief and embraces him gently,

"Thank you, Sonic."

They both enter the castle slowly, trying to not make any noise and few minutes later, the couple settled down in bed together. Both of them laid on their backs,

looking up at the ceiling in silence.

The silence atmosphere was starting to make the Blue Blur antsy.

Eventually he spoke up, stating awkwardly,

"Soooo…"

Sally turns to him, waiting for his sentence to finish.

Sonic turns to her as well,

"What did you wanna talk about?"

Sally's ears flicked upwards and she looked at the hedgehog sheepishly,

"Oh... right. I'm sorry, Sonic. I keep thinking about Tommy..."

Sonic moves a little closer to Sally,

"I'm hurting too, Sal. I had a front row seat to his destruction when Eggman ordered his fleet to fire. But we gotta keep fighting for Mobius. That's what Tommy would

want."

After another small lapse in time, the Blue Blur feels his companion's head slowly rest on his shoulder. Her soft hair softly brushing up against him. He looked down,

smiling gently with half closed eyes. He could tell that she was looking for comfort, so he runs his fingers through her hair and massages her scalp.

The chipmunk hums in response to the nice feeling that was calming her down,

"Hmm... I suppose you're right."

She stared up into Sonic's eyes once more. It's rare to see him be so incredibly gentle. Whenever the brash, wisecracking hedgehog showed this softer side to her, she

began to blush. She enjoyed every moment of his tender touch. Enjoyed that loving smile he gave her. It made her heart flutter with endearment. Unfortunately, her

pleasant thoughts were soon interrupted by another question.

"So what did you **_really_** wanna talk about?" Sonic asked.

Sally sat up a little and answered,

"...It's about my father. I talked with Dr. Quack about the machine your Uncle Chuck built for him and he told me there's a chance that it could bring him out of the

coma."

Sonic grins,

"That's awesome, Sal!"

The princess put a finger up and gave Sonic a look that says 'I'm not finished'.

"But there's a problem. You see, the machine doesn't have enough power normally… and even power rings seem ineffective... But if we had a chaos emerald, only then

would it be powerful enough to wake my father up."

Sonic's grin reverted back into his typical smirk,

"I see where you're going with this. Luckily for you, Rotor has been working on some star posts which will allow us to travel to different zones. That includes the Zone

of Silence. Tails told me that's where he sent the seven chaos emeralds."

Sally grew a large smile that lit up the whole room,

"Really? That's wonderful."

The chipmunk pauses for a little bit and asks nervously,

"Do... do you think I can search with you?"

Sonic still smirking replies with,

"Of course. I was actually gonna ask you tomorrow morning."

Sally got lost in Sonic's eyes,

"I appreciate it, Blue. Thank you so much."

Sonic kisses her forehead while putting his arms around her,

"No problem. Now let's get some shut-eye. It's been a long day for both of us."

Sally returns his embrace and closes her eyes, whispering,

"I love you, Sonic."

"Same here, Sal. Same here..."

After a few more minutes of silence, the two drifted off into a comfortable slumber.

 **The next morning, 6:00 AM...**

Sonic wakes up to see that Sally had already left. He got up and put his shoes on before leaving her bedroom. He walked down the hallway, passing a bunch of

open doors until he finally spots the chipmunk in her father's bedroom.

He leans against the door frame which made Sally look up with a smile.

"Morning, sleepyhead." she teased.

Sonic smiles back and raises an eyebrow,

"You're up pretty early. Everything cool?"

"Yeah, I'm just anxious to get that chaos emerald today." Sally answered honestly.

"Well, you stay here with your pops then. I'm gonna eat some breakfast and then stop by Freedom HQ to see if the star posts are done."

"Okay, Sonic. Just come get me when they're ready." she told him before returning her attention to her father.

Sonic takes off after hearing this, heading back to his hut.

Sally's expression returned to a sad one as she analyzes her father's condition again.

She places her hand on his and closes her eyes,

'Oh dad, you've lost so much during your life. You've lost your kingdom, your family, and now you can't even wake up. Me and Sonic **_will_** get a chaos emerald and bring

you back. I swear it.' she thought.

 **About thirty minutes later, Sonic walks into Freedom HQ and sees Tails and Rotor already working on the star posts...**

Sonic smiles at the sight of his friends,

"Aha! There you are, T2. I didn't see you at your hut, so I thought I'd find you here."

Tails smiles at his "big bro" too,

"Hiya, Sonic. How are you feeling?"

"I'm hanging in there, lil bro. How 'bout you?" Sonic asked back.

Tails hesitates before answering with,

"I still feel sad... but, I know things will get better."

Sonic put a hand on the young fox's shoulder,

"Things will get better, dude. I promise."

"So what brings you here so early, Sonic? I'm assuming it's for these babies." Rotor questioned, pointing at the posts.

"Yep. Just wanted to see how far you guys have gotten. " Sonic confirmed.

The walrus answered,

"Actually, we're just about finished. These star posts will definitely be able to send you to the Zone of Silence."

Sonic gave Rotor a thumbs up and an enthusiastic grin,

"That's way past cool, Rote! Exactly what I needed to hear."

Tails gives Sonic his own smirk and thumbs up,

"We should be finished in about thirty minutes."

"Sweet! I'll catch you two later then. I'll be back here with Sal so we can search for a chaos emerald together."

The Blue Blur waves at the two as he walked out of the base.

"See ya, Sonic." Tails and Rotor both replied.

Sonic starts dashing back to Castle Acorn, still having a grin on his face,

'Man, this day is already starting off better. It sucks that I have to wait, but I guess I can chill with Sal in the meantime.' he thought.

He stops in front of the castle and notices Tails' uncle, Merlin, walking towards the entrance.

Merlin catches Sonic in the corner of his eye and states,

"Greetings, Sonic."

Sonic smiles,

"What's poppin', Merlin? You looking for Tails by chance?"

Merlin smiles back,

"Actually, I came to see the princess. I need her help with something of utmost importance."

Sonic waved at Merlin to follow,

"C'mon, then. I'm sure she'd be happy to see ya."

Inside the castle itself, Sally is seen relaxing on one of the many couches the living room had. It was royal purple and the fabric felt incredibly soft.

She soon heard a couple knocks on the door, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"Hey, anybody hoooome?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

Sally giggles and decides to play along,

"Nope. Nobody here."

"Well, Merlin. I guess nobody's here. Let's head to my crib instead. It's way cooler, anyways." Sonic said.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Sally grew an annoyed look,

'There's no way Sonic's that dumb. Did he seriously leave...? What a jerk! He was supposed to come and get me!' she thought.

She rushes towards the door and opens it to see Sonic just standing there. His eyes were half closed and he had his signature smirk.

The princess glared at him,

"What?"

His smirk changed into a grin,

"You thought I actually left, didn't you?"

Sally crossed her arms defensively and averted her eyes to the side,

"No..." she lied.

Sonic chuckles at her expression and then reveals the elderly fox behind him,

"You remember Merlin, don't you? He said that he needed your help with something important."

Sally's expression returns to normal and she looks at Tails uncle with a smile, bowing respectfully,

"Of course. It's nice to see you again, Merlin. Let's talk inside."

Everyone settles down inside, all of them sitting in their own living room chairs.

Merlin begins to speak,

"Princess, I wanted to talk to you about Tails. I believe I discovered a way to bring his parents back to Mobius."

Sally and Sonic look at each other with wide eyes.

"That's incredible! Tails has been missing his family ever since I delivered the watch that they gave to me! (Issue 129)" Sonic exclaimed.

Sally was curious,

"How are you going to do it, though?"

"I only need two things to make it possible. The first being Knuckles' guiding star gem, because it opens portals to distant lands. The second thing I need is a

chaos emerald. I need it to amplify the portals' range so it can reach into outer space. Only then, will we be able to retrieve Tails' parents. I know the chaos emeralds

are in the Zone of Silence and I heard rumors of you Freedom Fighters developing a method to travel there. So I felt it was best to consult the leader of said Freedom

Fighters on the matter." Merlin explained.

Sonic gave the fox a reassuring smile,

"We do have a way of getting there. Rotor's making something called "star posts". Once he's done, Sal and I are gonna transport there to try and nab an emerald." he

stated.

Sally continues where Sonic left off,

"We only need it to help bring my father out of his coma. After that's finished, we'd be more than happy to lend it to you."

"That's excellent, princess. This should make Tails' very happy. You have my gratitude." Merlin praised.

The chipmunk nods,

"It's my pleasure."

Sonic stands up after the two finish,

"Alright, Sal. It's been about twenty eight minutes. I say we jet to Freedom HQ right now. The posts should be finished by the time we get there."

"Right." Sally agreed.

"Oh, and one more thing. Do you think you can send my nephew over to me? I'd like to discuss the trip with him." Merlin requested.

"Absolutely, Merlin. I'll tell him to come to meet you at his hut when I see him." Sally replied.

"Well, gotta juice Merlin! See ya later!" Sonic yelled.

He dashes out of the castle with Sally in his arms.

 **Back at Freedom HQ...**

Tails and Rotor are setting up the star posts after putting the finishing touches on them.

"Are you sure this will get Sonic and Sally to the Zone of Silence, Rotor?" Tails asked.

"As sure as I can be, Tails." Rotor reassured him.

Sonic and Sally walk shortly afterwards.

Tails smiled at both of them,

"Hi, Sally."

"Hello, Tails." Sally replied, hugging him.

The princess glances at the star posts and begins to feel excited.

As she stood between Rotor and Tails, she states in a soothing voice,

"Thank you for working so hard on this, you two."

Rotor grew a sheepish smile,

"Not a problem, Sally."

He then grabs the remote and presses a button,

"Everything is set up. All you guys need to do is walk through this portal." he explained, pointing his claw at the portal ring materializing.

Sonic gives a thumbs up,

"Cool. We'll handle things from here, Rote."

Sally focuses her attention back on Tails and kneels down to his height,

"Tails, your Uncle Merlin wants to see you. He has something really important to tell you. Right now, he's waiting for you at your hut."

"Oh, alright." Tails replied.

The young fox turns towards Rotor,

"Rotor, can you watch the star posts while I'm gone?"

The walrus smiles,

"Sure, go on ahead. I'll keep an eye on things."

Tails then heads out of Freedom HQ, flying off towards Knothole.

Sonic smirks at Sally,

"You ready to go, Sal?"

"Let's do it to it, Sonic." she answered with a fist bump.

They both enter the portal and end up on some kind of giant orb, rendered in wire frame.

The princess raised an eyebrow after carefully examining her strange surroundings,

"Huh, this is…different."

Sonic shrugs,

"Nah, not really. It looks just as trippy as the last time I came here."

Sally squints to look out in the distance,

"Well, it's certainly a colorful looking place. What I want to know is where we should start searching. This place is huge."

Just as Sally finishes her sentence, the floor beneath them starts to tremble and a giant Mobian panda lifts the sphere that they are standing on.

It glares down at them and begins to speak,

"Greetings, mortals. Welcome to the Special Zone. You shall now be judged by me, Feist."

Sally hides behind Sonic's shoulder in fear,

"Sonic…what am I looking at?"

The hedgehog stares at the panda and after a couple seconds, his eyes widen,

"Aw crud! Not this guy again! I remember running into him when I went inside your father's head (Issue 43)!"

Sonic changes his expression to a more smug one which Sally quickly notices,

"Hey, Feist! Why don't you—"

Sonic felt Sally elbow him in the side of his chest lightly, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Don't say anything stupid, Sonic! This doesn't look like the type of creature you want to provoke..." she scolded.

The giant panda smirks after hearing this,

"Do not fear me, I judge in favor of thee."

Sonic and Sally were both bewildered.

The hedgehog's eyebrow quirked,

"Wait, you do?"

Feist answers him,

"Yes, truly. You have fought my former master, Ixis Naugus, many times. And it was you princess, who released the chosen one. Allowing him to send the chaos

emeralds here and give me my power."

Sonic and Sally glance at each other with troubled expressions, then back at Feist.

"Do you know where we can find a chaos emerald?" Sally asked.

Feist raises his other hand and opens it, showing all seven emeralds.

"I now possess the emeralds. With their power, I may shape and reshape this place to whatever my mind desires."

Sonic smiles nervously and asks,

"Yeah, that's cool and all but…can we have one?"

Feist glares at the two,

"Why?"

Sally looked back at the panda with sad eyes,

"My father, the former king, is in a coma and we don't know if he'll ever wake up from it. We need a chaos emerald so we can bring him back, using a machine we built.

Can you please help us?"

Feist thinks for a second and then answers her,

"Fine, I shall grant you this favor for your past efforts and for giving me my power. However, know this—I shall not grant a chaos emerald this easily for anyone else.

Those who come seeking one afterwards shall be tested as I see fit." he finished while giving them the grey emerald.

Sonic and Sally both smile.

"Awesome!" Sonic shouted.

"Thank you, Feist." Sally said.

Both of them ran back towards the portal as fast as possible.

Rotor greets them as they come back through,

"Hey guys, how did-"

Sonic cut him off, yelling,

"No time for chit chat, Rote!" with Sally adding, "Close the portal, quickly!"

Rotor, with Nicole's help, closes the portal.

Sonic and Sally pant heavily, but are still smiling as they gape at the chaos emerald's beautiful glow.

The princess hugs her lovable goofball and cheers,

"We did it, Sonic!"

Sonic sighs in relief,

"We sure did. I'm just glad that acid trip is over. You get this little gem back to Castle Acorn while I go get Dr. Quack and Uncle Chuck."

Sally nods,

"Alright, see you there."

 **Back at Castle Acorn; after about twenty minutes of preparation, everything was set up to bring former king out of his coma...**

Tails and Uncle Chuck were getting the chaos emerald ready for the machine, while Dr. Quack checks the king's vitals and places the helmet from the machine on his

head. Standing beside him is Elias and Queen Alicia holding each other's hands. And at the end of the bed, Sonic is holding Sally close, trying to ease her anxiety

before the procedure begins.

"Tails, how is the focus chamber looking?" Uncle Chuck asked.

Tails studies the machine's readings and gives him a thumbs up,

"It's heating up pretty fast, but things are looking good otherwise."

Queen Alicia looks at Doctor Quack with a worried expression,

"Doctor Quack, are you certain that this is safe? Will my husband be alright?"

Dr. Quack answered confidently,

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Lady Alicia. Sir Charles and I have planned this for weeks. You can trust us."

The doctor turns his attention to Uncle Chuck and gave the order,

"Sir Charles... pull the lever."

Uncle Chuck activates the machine, causing the room to shake and glow intensely after a few seconds. Soon, the king starts to levitate as the positive energy of the

chaos emerald surges through him. Then he finally floats down to the bed, with silence filling the room for thirty seconds... until the king slowly opens his eyes.

"A-Alicia?"

Doctor Quack checks the former king's heartbeat,

"His vitals check out! Welcome back, Maximillian."

Lady Alicia comes to Max's side with tears of joy,

"Max, I'm here darling."

"Alicia, how does the kingdom stand?" Max asked.

Elias answers him while pointing at his crown,

"Knothole stands strong, father."

Max looks in Elias' direction, his smile becoming a proud one,

"Is that you, my son? My boy as king?"

"That's right, daddy." Sally answered, trying to hold off her own tears.

The chipmunk smiled cheekily as her father glanced back at her,

"My lovely daughter, it's so good to see you again."

Max then realized Sonic was standing next to Sally with his arm around her waist and his typical smirk.

He narrows his eyes with a small frown,

"...And the royal consort. I do hope that you are treating my little bean well."

Sonic smiled sheepishly,

"Nice to see ya too, kingy."

Sally giggles at the hedgehog's response and kisses his cheek, putting her hands around his arm in the process.

"Don't worry, daddy. Sonic has been an amazing partner. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to wake you from your coma."

The former king changes his expression back to a happier one,

"Looks like I owe you one, my boy. I apologize."

The hedgehog's regular smirk slowly returned,

"It's cool, your highness."

"Way past cool..." Sally adds sarcastically while still giggling, making Sonic chuckle with her.

 **After spending an hour catching up with the former king. Sonic, Sally, and Tails start to exit Castle Acorn and head to Freedom HQ...**

"It's time to get this emerald to your uncle, Tails. I'm sure he told you what he's planning." Sonic said.

"He did, and he already got Knuckles on board to help us too. I can't believe I'm going to see my parents again!" Tails exclaimed, smiling down at the grey emerald he

was holding.

Sally smiles at yellow fox and rubs his head,

"I'm happy for you, Tails. It's about time you got your real parents back."

Tails smile became sappy as he gazed up at his former 'aunt',

"But I'll always appreciate all you've done to raise me up, Sally. Without you and Sonic, I wouldn't be the Freedom Fighter I am today."

Hearing this made Sonic and Sally smile softly at one another, followed by gripping each others' hands.

As they start to approach Freedom HQ, Knuckles and Merlin are seen in the distance.

"There they are." Knuckles announced as he walked towards them.

"Sup, Rad Red." Sonic said, raising his hand.

"Nothing much, True Blue." Knuckles replied, giving him a high five.

Sally hugs the echidna,

"Hello, Knuckles. How's Julie-Su?"

Knuckles grins,

"Su is doing great! Just as sassy! She's back on Angel Island keeping an eye on the Master Emerald while I help Merlin out."

Tails runs up to his uncle,

"Uncle Merlin, I have the chaos emerald you needed."

"Excellent, now let me have it so we can get started." Merlin ordered.

Knuckles hands Merlin the guiding star gem and the wizard places it on top of the chaos emerald.

The four then sit in a circle, placing their hands on the emerald.

"Listen closely everyone. Knuckles, you will guide the energies for us. Tails, you will reach out with your heart and find your parents. I will make sure to

keep us intact while we travel through space. Sonic and Sally, be sure to hold onto the emerald." Merlin instructed.

They all close their eyes and after ten seconds, they teleport to the planet Argentium.

As they all land on the planet, their eyes widen with shock. It was completely desolate.

"Jeez, this place is a wreck." Knuckles commented.

Sonic looked completely lost,

"The heck happened here? This isn't how it looked last time (Issue 129)."

Sally spots something familiar above them and gasps in horror,

"Sonic…t-the Xorda! They're here!"

Seeing the Xorda causes Sally to flash back to what had happened when they last attacked Mobius. Remembering the pain of losing her one true love to the Quantum

Dial they had placed on the planet. It made her tremble in fear.

Sonic notices Sally starting to shake.

His expression changed to a sympathetic one,

'She's thinking about what happened to me after I destroyed the Xorda's doomsday weapon.' he thought.

He walks up to the princess and holds her tightly to stop the shaking.

"Sal, I won't let them take me away again. Let's just focus on finding Tails' parents so we can get outta here."

Sally snaps out of it and recomposes herself,

"R-Right. I'm sorry."

Sonic rubs her back and smiles,

"Don't be."

The Blue Blue then realized that Tails was looking out in the distance at the destruction being caused by the Xorda.

He raises an eyebrow,

"Yo, Tails. You see something?"

"Mom! Dad!" the young fox yelled, running off to find his parents alone.

Merlin chases after him,

"Tails, wait!"

The ground starts to tremor and Knuckles states,

"I guess this explains why the Xorda haven't come back to tear our planet up. I wonder who they're fighting with."

Suddenly a male voice is heard from behind Sonic and Knuckles,

"They are known as the Black Arms and they've been fighting the Xorda for months. We don't know when they'll stop, if ever."

Knuckles and Sonic turn to see that it's Tails' parents (Amadeus and Rosemary).

Rosemary greets Sonic with a warm smile,

"Nice to see you again, Sonic. Welcome back to Argentium, or what's left of it..."

Sonic smiles back,

"Whaddaya know! It's the Prowers!

The Blue Blur prepared to dash off,

"You guys wait here a sec."

The hedgehog runs away and back, returning with both Merlin and Tails.

"Here we are. This is why you wait instead of dashing off, buddy." he stated.

"Mission complete." Knuckles states as he bumps fists with his blue rival.

Merlin walks up to the two parents and hugs them,

"Amadeus, Rosemary, it's been too long."

"I knew you would come for us eventually." Amadeus replied.

"I wasn't the only one that helped. It's thanks to Sonic and his friends as well. Now I believe there's someone that wants to see you." the wizard said.

Sally walks up to Tails, acknowledging his reluctance to approach.

She put a hand on his shoulder, stating,

"Go on, Tails. They've waited a long time to see you."

"Okay, Sally..." he agreed, walking towards his parents slowly.

"Our son…" both his parents said.

Rosemary kneels down to Tails, rubbing his bangs,

"Miles, you've grown into such a good looking boy so fast." she complimented with tears of joy.

Tails stammers through his own tears,

"Everybody c-calls me T-Tails at home."

"Then we'll call you Tails too." his father acknowledged as all three of them hugged.

"I m-missed you guys so much. I w-was so scared that I'd never get to see you..." Tails sobbed.

"Don't worry, sweetie. We promise to never leave your side again." Rosemary replied.

Sonic glances at Sally, who has her head cocked slightly to the side with her hands behind her back. She had been tearing up as well. He put his arm around the

princess and smiles at the reunited family with her.

Merlin walks in the middle of all of them,

"Okay, everyone. Let's head home. Put your hands on the emerald."

A smiling Tails gazes into the eyes of both of his parents with his own tear-stained ones,

"I can't wait to show you both around Knothole! There are so many people I want you to meet."

Amadeus rubs his head,

"Then we should leave quickly, my son."

Everyone places there hands on the emerald once more, teleporting back to Knothole.

 **After making it back home, Tails goes to Castle Acorn to reintroduce his parents to the kingdom. On the other hand, Sonic and Sally decide to head to the**

 **Knothole cemetery to pay** **final respects to Tommy Turtle and Sir Connery...**

They both sit in the grass, with the hedgehog having one arm around his partner. The two were staring at the graves of their deceased friends in complete silence.

Soon, Knuckles stops by to see how they're both doing.

"Whatcha guys doing over here? This is a terrible place to have a date." he joked.

"What? You some kinda dating expert now, Chuckles?" Sonic jested back.

"Heh, not in the _**slightest**_. But seriously, what are you two doing out here?" Knuckles asked.

Sally glances at the echidna,

"We're paying our last respects to Tommy and Sir Connery. We're just not used to losing two people so fast."

Knuckles frowned at the two graves as well,

"I understand how you both feel. I felt the same way when I found out that all my forefathers went missing... never to be found again. It eats at you."

Sonic smirks,

"Well, Rad Red. We won't let their sacrifices be for nothing. We'll take down that giant talking egg eventually, and we'll do it together."

"Ya got that right, True Blue. I can't wait to punch that tyrant in the nose, and we got plenty of others who feel the same way." Knuckles agreed.

The three of them start walking towards Chuck's Diner together.

"We **_do_** have a lot of allies spread across the planet... But there's one that I wonder about specifically." Sonic said.

Knuckles gave the Blue Blur a curious look,

"Who?"

Sonic's expression became serious,

"Shadow."

Now Sally was confused,

"Shadow? But doesn't he work for Robotnik?"

"Yeah, he does. But I don't think he's a bad dude despite his angst. He's lost, I know he is. But once he puts the pieces together in his mind, I know he'll do what's

right." Sonic clarified as they enter the Diner.

 **End**


	7. Finding the Truth

**Finding The Truth (Issue 171 Redone)**

 **Back at New Megaopolis, Eggman and Snively are working on a major plan to destroy Knothole City...**

"Robotnik, sir. Your new batch of egg grapes have finally been completed and the worker bots are almost done with the teleporter beams." Snively reported as he entered the lab.

"Excellent, Snively. That's only phase one of my plan. Right now I'm preparing to upgrade my Egg Fleet. Those lousy Freedom Fighters won't know what hit them once

everything is finished." Eggman replied.

Suddenly, Shadow comes in with a livid expression on his face,

"Doctor Robotnik!"

"Huh?" Eggman muttered.

The mad doctor peeks over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow,

"What is it, Shadow?"

Shadow starts to clench his fists as they glow with chaos energy,

"My creator, Gerald Robotnik, has a journal that holds all the answers to my past."

He then points at the doctor,

"You've been hiding it from me this entire time and I demand to know where it is!"

Eggman faces the hedgehog, looking disinterested,

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

Shadow clenches both of his fists again and picks Eggman up with one hand while he grabs Snively's six strands of hair with the other,

"Do not test my patience, Doctor. I'll ask again. Where have you hidden Gerald Robotnik's journal?"

"I don't have to tell you anything. You belong to me and you'll do as I say. Release me now!" Eggman commanded.

Shadow decides to focus on Snively, lightly pulling his hair,

"Where is the journal, Snively? If you don't tell me, there will be dire consequences."

Snively panics as Shadow tugs on his six strands of hair,

"No! Don't take the last of my hair, please!"

Shadow repeated himself pulling the hair harder,

"Where. is. the. journal?!"

Snively finally screams out,

"It's in Uncle Julian's private study! Now please, release my hair!"

Shadow smirks softly,

"That's what I thought… but you wasted too much of my time."

The black hedgehog rips off Snively's last six hairs and runs towards Eggman's private study.

"Snively! You double-crossing imp!" Eggman yelled.

"He took the last of my hair!" Snively yelled back.

"Who cares? Having a bald head is attractive!" the mad doctor answered, pointing at his own dome afterwards.

While the two argued, Shadow had quickly rummaged through the private quarters of Robotnik and found Professor Gerald's journal.

"Finally…I found the journal of my creator. Soon, I will no longer be lost." he said while removing a CD from the journal.

His expression changes to a serious one,

"I must go to a safer location. A place with similar technology with people I can trust."

He dashes out of Robotnik's base and heads towards the Great Forest.

 **At Freedom HQ, Sonic and Tails were doing research on the computer while Knuckles was guarding the door...**

Soon, Sally walks in muttering to herself,

"Where can she be?"

Seeing this behavior made Knuckles curious,

"Everything okay, Sally?"

The princess crosses her arms and softly shakes her head,

"Have any of you seen Fiona? She was supposed to meet up with me, Bunnie and Amy for a discussion."

Tails chooses to keep silent at the mention of Fiona while Sonic speaks up, looking troubled,

"Sorry, Sal. Can't say I have. I'm starting to get real tired of these no-shows from her. She didn't even come on the mission you sent us on, yesterday afternoon. I keep

giving her the benefit of the doubt because of how much she's helped us recently but… I don't know if I should anymore."

The chipmunk nods in agreement,

"I think this is the last straw—"

Suddenly, Tails angrily flies out of the HQ, causing Sally to stop mid-sentence.

'I can't take this anymore! I have to tell someone what I know...' he thought.

A confused Knuckles pokes his head outside before facing back towards Sonic and Sally,

"What's up with Tails? I've never seen him fly off like that."

Sonic shrugs,

"I don't know, Knux. Every time we bring up Fiona, he starts to act all weird."

Sally gives her own answer while in a thinking pose,

"Sonic, Tails probably still has a crush on her."

The Blue Blur lets out an exasperated sigh, gazing at the ceiling as he does so,

"I know about his crush on Fiona, but I thought he's moved on at this point."

Sally shook her head once more and pointed at the entrance,

"Obviously he's not from what we just saw. I suppose he doesn't like it when we speak badly of her around him. We should talk to him."

Before Sonic can give his thoughts on her suggestion, they both hear electrical strikes coming from outside.

"Sonic! Sally! Shadow is heading this way and he's under attack!" Knuckles yelled from entrance.

The princess focused back the blue hedgehog beside her,

"Sonic, you go with Knuckles and help Shadow. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the base."

Sonic gives Sally a funny salute along with a cheeky grin,

"Yes, ma'am!" he cheered, earning an amused head shake from his partner.

He dashes outside and stops right beside Knuckles.

"Let's lend Shadow a hand, Sonic." Knuckles told him.

Sonic nods and gives a thumbs up before they both head in Shadow's direction. The black hedgehog is seen running away from two Egg Flappers shooting electric

shocks at him.

They were about to fry the disk that was in his hand, but Sonic spin dashes cleanly through the first Flapper and Knuckles slams the other down to the ground with

both his fists.

"Wooo! That felt great! We tore through those bots like butter!" Sonic exclaimed.

Knuckles smirks in agreement,

"Yeah, these badniks are ready for the junk pile."

Sonic turns to Shadow with a smirk and half closed eyes,

"We can never meet normally, huh Shadow?"

Shadow smiled at the unharmed disk in his hand before turning his attention to Sonic,

"That was a little too close, blue hedgehog. But you have my thanks regardless."

"So what brings you out here, faker? I'm guessing it has something to do with that disk your smiling at." Sonic asked.

Shadow's expression changes to a more melancholy one,

"You're correct… the Freedom Fighters are the only ones I can trust right now. I've been lost in the dark for too long and this disk will help me find myself."

Sonic chuckles,

"Heh, I find it ironic that you're lost in the dark, "Shadow"."

The black hedgehog glared in response and pointed at Sonic's chest,

"This is no time for bad puns, Sonic! This disk contains the journal of my creator, Gerald Robotnik. It will tell me why I was made and what purpose I serve."

The Blue Blur waves his hand and smiles,

"Cool it, faker. I'm just messing around. Of course we'll help you out."

Sonic glanced at Knuckles,

"C'mon, Rad Red. Let's get back to the HQ."

 **After a few minutes of explaining what happened, Sally had Nicole run a diagnostic on the disk Shadow gave them...**

"Diagnostic complete, Princess Sally." Nicole informed her.

"Alright, Nicole. Tell us what you found." Sally replied.

"The data is still relatively intact, but it is very fragile. If we attempt to access the files, there is chance that it could corrupt after short period of time." the holo-lynx

explained.

Shadow, with a determined look, states firmly,

"I've gone too far to stop now. I have to take the chance."

Nicole replies,

"Very well. If you want, I can physically interface with the disk. It would make it a lot easier to find what you're looking for."

"Do it." the black hedgehog responded.

Sonic smiles at Sally,

"Wanna join us, Sal? It'll be fun."

Sally smiles back,

"Usually I would, but I'll sit this one out. I want to watch you both from outside of the monitor and make sure things run smoothly."

"If you say so." Sonic said with a shrug before turning to Knuckles.

"What about you, Rad Red?"

"No can do. I'll be keeping watch outside to make sure no one interrupts you guys." he answered.

Even though Sonic understood, he still rolled his eyes,

"Whatever."

Nicole announces,

"Everything is ready."

Sonic and Shadow both nod at each other before teleporting into the computer. When The two hedgehogs scan their surroundings, they realize that they're in a virtual

recreation of the Space Colony Ark.

"This ring any bells, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

Shadow had a look of awe,

"Yes, I remember this place as my home."

They both hear a voice behind them and turn around to see a Mobian Lynx in a purple dress.

"As I said before, the data is still very fragile. I calculated that we have approximately twenty minutes before this place withers away from fragmentation."

Both of Sonic's eyebrows were raised,

"Whoa! Is that you, Nicole?"

Nicole turns her back and smiles timidly,

"Indeed, it is. This has been a little side project I've been working on. What do you think?"

"I think you look cute. It suits ya." he answered.

Nicole blushes,

"Thank you."

Shadow glares at the two,

"What's the hold up? We only have eighteen minutes now." he complained.

Sonic sheepishly smiles at Shadow, adding a shrug as well.

"Whoops. Sorry, faker."

They three start searching the vicinity for clues until their ears pick up another female voice,

"Shadow, over here!"

The familiar voice made Shadow turn his head swiftly,

"Maria!"

 **Meanwhile back outside of the monitor, Sally observes the blonde girl who appears on the screen...**

'I wonder who this girl is? She looks very similar to that other little girl. What was her name...Hope! It was Hope Kintobor!' Sally thought.

Suddenly, the base's alarm starts to go off loudly, ripping the princess away from her thoughts. She then notices that Snively's hairs were blinking red at the tips.

Knuckles runs back inside,

"What's going on?!"

The princess answers him with a disturbed look on her face,

"It's Snively's six hairs… they... have trackers in them..."

The echidna raises an eyebrow,

"What?! Why am I even surprised? He and Robotnik are total nut jobs."

He ran back outside while yelling,

"I'll go handle him! Just make sure those two make it out of the computer!"

When Knuckles exits the HQ, he discovers that Snively had already been waiting for him in a giant lobster mech, looking extremely

agitated.

"You're not Shadow! Tell him to come out at once! I know he's inside your base and if he doesn't return my hair, I'll destroy it!" he threatened.

Knuckles frowns,

"No…you won't."

He jumps towards Snively's mech and attacks the legs first.

"I've been lost just like Shadow and I won't let you stop him from finding his purpose!"

Knuckles punched two legs off of the lobster before getting swatted away.

"Too bad! He took my last six hairs and I'm going to make sure he suffers for it!" Snively yelled.

The mech fires a barrage of lasers, with Knuckles barely dodging them.

 **Back inside Gerald's journal...**

Shadow runs towards his old friend and holds her hands with a sappy smile appearing on his face,

"Maria…I thought I'd lost you forever."

Maria raises his hands higher, smiling down at him,

"Shadow, we'll never be apart as long as you keep me in your thoughts and heart."

Maria notices the other two Mobians accompanying him and points at them,

"Who are they?"

Sonic answers her with his own smile,

"We're just friends of his. We came to help him find some answers about his past."

"He speaks the truth, Maria. After being in cryosleep for fifty years, I've forgotten everything. My purpose and past are a mystery to me." Shadow explained.

Maria gasped,

"Has it really been fifty years? We must speak to my grandfather immediately!"

The young girl grabs Shadow's hand and leads him along with the others to her grandfather.

Nicole took a quick peek at her timer and saw that they only have eleven minutes left.

'I hope I don't have to cut this reunion short.' she thought.

Eventually they stop in front of a man who looks similar to Eggman, except he was slimmer and had a grey mustache.

"Gerald Robotnik?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, it's me my son. Fifty years is a long time to wander in the dark." Gerald replied.

Sonic also glanced at Nicole's timer to see that they now have nine minutes left.

"Yo, professor. Can we get a short version of his past and what his purpose is? We don't got much time to spare."

The professor nods,

"Why of course." he agreed before turning to his "son".

"To put it briefly, I created you to be the absolute protector of Mobius and its inhabitants."

Shadow looked confused,

"I'm... a guardian? But, why?"

"Honestly, that wasn't what you were planned to be at first. Initially, you were created to be a cure for Maria. She had developed an incurable illness known as

neuro-immuno-deficiency-syndrome. I was hoping with your body's enhanced cells, that it would be possible to cure her… but it proved fruitless." he explained.

The professor's expression then became sad as he continued,

"Everything I tried wasn't working and I didn't want to lose the only family I had left. So I became desperate and decided to use otherworldly means of assistance. As I travelled through space, I ran into the Leader of the Black Arms alien group. He went by the name of Black Doom and after sensing you in my ship, he became obsessed with the notion of turning you into a weapon. Because I was so blinded by grief, I allowed him to insert his blood inside of you so I can study it's properties. It was this

same blood that granted you your powers of chaos control. After the procedure was completed, Black Doom told me that he would allow mankind to use you for fifty years. Once the time was up, he would

then come back to reclaim you. When I discovered that his blood didn't improve Maria's status at all, I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. This is what led to

me re-purposing you as a savior rather than a weapon."

The professor places a hand on Shadow's shoulder and smiles gently,

"In the end, I created you because of my love for the people of Mobius. I wanted you to protect them from Black Doom's eventual return in fifty

years. I'm sorry for placing such a tremendous responsibility on your shoulders... but I know you have the power to do it."

Nicole looked at the timer again. They only had one minute left...

"Shadow, the digital matrix is about to collapse! We need to leave!" she warned.

Shadow's gaze fell to the ground and he clenched his fists,

"I can't! I still have so many questions and I can't leave Maria again!"

Maria put her hands around Shadow's cheeks and smiled lovingly at him,

"Shadow, it's okay. Mobius needs you now more than ever. Just remember that you'll never lose me…"

Shadow finishes her sentence while looking up at her with tears in his eyes,

"As long as I hold you in my thoughts and heart… Goodbye, Maria…"

"Sayonara, Shadow." The blonde girl whispered while hugging him.

"Shadow, c'mon you slowpoke! The floor's starting to disappear!" Sonic scolded.

Shadow exits through the virtual door with Sonic, traveling back to reality. They both tumble out of the computer and crash into a wall.

"What a crazy trip!" Sonic exclaimed.

Sally runs over to the two hedgehogs,

"Good to see you two made it out in one piece. While I was monitoring you both, Knuckles has been dealing with Snively outside. Apparently he wants his six hairs back from Shadow."

Hearing this made Shadow snap and quickly said the six hairs. The black hedgehog then rushes outside and destroys Snively's lobster mech with one powerful spin

dash, freeing Knuckles from the metal pincers.

Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles then watch as Shadow towers over the destroyed mech and Snively,

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I was built with the love for the people of Mobius. I am the ultimate life form. And I am the protector of Mobius! Retreat back to your city

and tell Robotnik, this is who I am!"

He threw Snively's hair in his face and left for Station Square.

Sally giggles,

"He certainly knows how to build himself up. Maybe he'll be more positive from now on."

Sonic put his arm around Sally's waist and smirks,

"Eh, maybe. I'm sure that edge of his isn't going anywhere."

Knuckles speaks up,

"I'm just glad he isn't lost anymore. He knows his purpose now and hopefully he'll help us out in a pinch if we need it."

The echidna then takes out his warp ring,

"Anyways, I'm going to head back to Angel Island. I'm sure Julie-Su is worried sick about me."

Sonic and Sally both wave goodbye to their friend as he disappears through the warp ring's portal.

After making sure that Snively left, Sally glances at Sonic with a serious expression,

"Okay, back to what we were talking about before all this happened."

Sonic nods,

"Right, we need to talk to Tails and figure out if he knows something about Fiona."

They both walk back towards Knothole holding hands.

 **End**


	8. An Unexpected Betrayal

**An Unexpected Betrayal (Issue 172 and 173 Redone)**

 **At Knothole City...**

Sonic and Sally are seen finishing lunch at Chuck's Diner. They both had decided to take a break after an hour of searching for Tails.

At the moment, Sonic is rubbing his stomach with a content grin,

"Oh, boy! That hit the spot!"

Sally smiles warmly at him as she places her hand on his,

"Mmmhmm, I definitely needed that. Your Uncle Chuck is such an incredible cook, Blue."

The chipmunk then grew a sheepish expression, blushing lightly,

"I wish I could make food like him... I'm a horrible cook."

Hearing this made the hedgehog chuckle,

"No kidding. I remember when you made cookies for everyone and made us all sick."

Sally smirks at his jab and teases him back,

"Well you aren't much better, mister. There are still chili stains on the mess hall ceiling from when you tried to make us dinner a month ago."

They both laugh for a little as they remember that day. Then the two smile at one another shortly afterwards, enjoying this small moment together. Eventually, the chipmunk leans towards the Blue Blur, with Sonic gladly doing so as well. They kiss for a few seconds before separating.

"Alright, Blue. Now that we're done here, we should head back to Freedom HQ and see if Tails has returned." the princess suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Sonic agreed.

The duo starts heading back to the Great Forest, hand in hand.

 **Meanwhile at the HQ itself, Amy starts to attack Fiona as she approaches the entrance...**

The pink hedgehog had a livid grimace,

"There you are, you filthy traitor!"

Amy tries to smash Fiona with her hammer, but the red fox jumps back,

"Woah!"

"I thought you were our friend, but you betrayed all of us!" Amy continued.

She swings her hammer again and then tries to kick Fiona.

"What are you talking about?! Why are you attacking me?!" Fiona asked, leaning back to avoid both attacks.

"Don't play dumb with me, Fiona! Tails told me everything! I ran into him an hour ago while looking for Sonic and he found out through Sleuth Dawg that you've been

dating Scourge behind our backs! You never cared about being a Freedom Fighter and you never cared about us!" Amy explained.

The rosy hedgehog goes for a hammer spin attack (Girl Tornado) but it barely grazes Fiona.

The vixen started to get irritated, stating,

"It's not like I'm super close with the Freedom Fighters. You're all just acquaintances to me."

"So you confess to everything Tails told me?!" Amy asked.

A smug smile spread across the fox's face,

"Confess to what? I didn't confess anything."

"Stop lying and tell me the truth!" Amy screamed.

"Doing that gets you hurt or worse, you little brat." Fiona replied.

She jumps back to avoid Amy's hammer uppercut, landing a few feet away.

"Besides, it doesn't matter what you know. Even if you got all of Knothole to testify against me, Sonic and Sally would never believe you."

Unfortunately for Fiona, Sonic and Sally arrive just in time to hear her say this.

The princess frowns in response to said statement,

"We would never believe what?"

Sonic looked more baffled than anything,

"What's going on here?"

Amy sprints over to the couple,

"Sonic! Sally! I-I have to tell you something!"

She stops in front of the two, panting heavily,

"Tails... came to me... and told me..."

The hedgehog finally catches her breath and her grimace returns,

"He told me that Fiona has been going out with Scourge behind our backs for the past few months!" she finished.

Sonic and Sally frown at each other and then turn back to Amy.

The princess puts one hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle smile,

"Thank you for the information, Amy. Me and Sonic will handle things from here. Just relax for now, okay? There's no need to attack Fiona anymore."

Amy calms down a little bit and half nods before looking back Fiona's direction.

While all of this is happening, Tails is flying high in the sky, listening to everything that was being said.

Sonic glares at red fox,

"Is what Amy said true, Fi?"

Fiona stopped to think for a second before smiling smugly again,

"Fine, I'll give in. It's true."

The Blue Blur lets out a disappointed sigh and shrugs,

"Guess that explains why you've been disappearing so often."

Sally felt disappointed as well,

"Why? Why would you disappear from the missions and discussions, just to go out with one of our most dangerous enemies? Why would you throw away all the trust

we've given you?"

Fiona sighs,

"I really did try to be one of the good guys. After Sonic sacrificed himself to stop the Xorda, I was inspired to try and make a difference, and I stuck with it for a while to

see where things would go. But over time, I realized…this hero thing is just not interesting. And you guys are so vanilla and so hung up on being saviors to the point

that you're no fun."

Then another voice was heard in the distance,

"What she's tryin' to say is that you guys are bland and boring!"

Fiona's smile gets bigger,

"And speaking of fun… hey, sweetie."

Scourge comes out of the forest and stands beside Fiona,

"Hey, babe."

The doppelganger grins at the blue hedgehog across from him and says,

"Sup, loser. Shocked that me and Fiona are a thing? It happened back when I impersonated you. She was one of the many girls I hit on. But outta all of the girls, she

stuck out the most. And we've been seein' each other ever since. Haha! So much for your "friend", Blue!"

Sonic, infuriated, was about to attack Scourge when suddenly Tails came down in tears,

"No, Fiona! Don't do it please! Don't g-go with Scourge! I know you're good! Y-you just have to try a little harder!"

'Ugh, how annoying.' Fiona thought.

The female fox leans down towards Tails and starts talking in a comforting/soothing voice,

"Oh, Tails…as smart as you are… Sonic failed to teach you one core lesson in life…"

she then whispers,

"You can't count on anybody."

A mischievous grin appears on Fiona's face and she gives Tails a hard slap to his cheek, knocking him away.

"Tails!" Sally yelled, frantically running towards the young fox.

Amy flared up once more,

"How dare you slap him, you bi-"

Amy was cut off by an enraged Sonic charging towards Fiona,

"Nobody slaps my lil bro and gets away with it!"

Scourge intercepts the blue hedgehog right before he reaches Fiona, grabbing him around the neck and dragging him out of the forest.

"Hands off the lady, chump. I may like messin' with you, but I actually like Fiona. Every chick in my universe is bad from the get-go. But the fact that Fiona chooses to be

is sexy!"

He throws Sonic at a rock, but the Blue Blur rebounds off of it and back towards Scourge with a spin dash. Scourge dodges the spin dash by simply moving to the side,

causing Sonic to crash into a tree.

"Oh, and another thing. I think I get why ya hate me so much." Scourge started.

He towers over Sonic, grinning broadly,

"It's because all it would take is one bad day, and you'd be just like me!"

Sonic scoffs at his conclusion and trips him,

"Nah, Scourge. You got it all backwards."

Then **_he_** towers over Scourge with his own grin,

"It's because if you had a bit of selflessness and decency, then you'd be just like _**ME**_!"

Scourge was speechless but Fiona kicks Sonic off of the green hedgehog,

"Get away from him!" she yelled.

The fox was about to hit Sonic again but gets smacked by Amy's hammer.

"Take that! You wench!" the rosy hedgehog screeched.

Sally then ambushes Scourge from the side as he recovers to his feet, kicking him in the face,

"That was for Tails!"

The princess lands back on her feet and Tails comes beside her, glaring at the two villains in front of him with tear stained eyes,

"I m-may not be able to hurt you Fiona, but the others can. And I don't care about you Scourge.

Tails then shouts with closed eyes and clenched fists,

"If you two don't leave right now, then we'll force you to!"

Scourge sneers at Fiona while rubbing his bruised cheek,

"Heh. Well, I've had my fun babe. Let's bail." he suggested while activating a warp ring.

"Yes, let's leave. I'm sick of this place." Fiona agreed.

They both went through the warp ring and disappeared.

Sonic walks up to Tails afterwards with a sympathetic expression on his face,

"Hey, lil bro... You hanging in there?"

Tails was staring at the ground sadly,

"I'll live, Sonic. But overall, I feel terrible..."

Sally leans down to his height and hugs him with a warm smile,

"Don't take what Fiona said to heart, Tails. We'd never leave you or anyone behind."

Tails smiles softly,

"I know, Sally. I can always depend on you guys and the other Freedom Fighters to be there for me."

The young fox then tears up a little once more,

"I really w-want to see my m-mother right now, though."

Amy stands next to Tails with her own sympathetic smile and grabs his hand,

"C'mon, then. I'll walk with you back home."

Tails looks Amy in the eyes and nods with a sniffle.

Amy turns to the other two Freedom Fighters,

"We'll see you two back in Knothole."

Amy and Tails start making their way back home with Antoine passing by and waving at them. The coyote then glances at Sonic and Sally, who still had

melancholy expressions on their faces.

"What ees ze matter with Tails?" he asked.

Sonic frowned at Antoine,

"Fiona betrayed us, 'Twan. She's been going out with Scourge behind our backs and just ditched us now."

Antoine was shocked,

"Oh, mon dieu! C'est terrible!"

The coyote's expression snapped into a serious one,

"You two come with me to ze Ring grotto, s'il te plait. I need ze both of you for somethink important."

He starts walking, with Sonic and Sally following.

They both stare at Antoine curiously.

"Whaddaya plan on doing, 'Twan?" Sonic asked.

Antoine answers him,

"I'm doing somethink I should have done a while ago."

 **Later at the Ring Grotto, Antoine meets up with Bunnie...**

Sally and Sonic accompany him as they said they would and witness Antoine kneel down and grab Bunnie's organic hand.

Both of them were awestruck by what Antoine said next,

"Bunnie Rabbot, will you do me ze great honor of becomink my wife?"

Sonic yells,

"Wooo! Go, 'Twan!"

Bunnie gives her answer, blushing intensely,

"Sugar-twan, ah don't know any other person who ah'd wanna be with! Of course ah'll marry ya!"

She pulled Antoine in for a kiss, which made Sally cheer,

"That's what I'm talking about, Bunnie!"

The chipmunk leans her head on the Blue Blur's shoulder with a radiant smile,

"This reminds me of when you agreed to be my consort, Blue. That was such an amazing day."

Sally then remembers something and sighs sadly,

"Actually… only the beginning of that day was great. The Xorda tried to ruin everything after that..."

Sonic smirks,

" **Tried** is the key word, Sal. No doomsday device could ever stop me. As long as I got the sneakers on my feet, no one, not even Robuttnik will get rid of this

hedgehog."

Sally smirks back and teases him,

"You're right. As long as you have that ego, no villain can stop you."

The princess giggled afterwards, causing the hedgehog to give her a sultry smile. He wraps both arms around her waist and pulls her into a surprise kiss, causing her

eyes to widen and cheeks to redden. The couple made sure they kept the kiss short so they could dash over to Bunnie and Antoine.

Sonic puts his arms around the newly engaged couple,

"Times really do change, man. We've been teammates and friends for so long, but I never imagined you two tying the knot!"

Bunnie gives Sonic a knowing smile,

"Some things change for the better, Sugar-hog."

The hedgehog chuckles,

"No arguments here."

Sally tightly embraces her best friend,

"Congratulations, Bunnie! I'm so happy for you!"

Bunnie gave the princess a sappy smile,

"Ah'm so happy that you got to see this, Sally-girl! It wouldna' felt as special without mah best friend."

 **Back at Freedom HQ, Rotor is talking with Knuckles through Nicole's monitor...**

"So, Knuckles. How's Mina doing? Did her tour start off smoothly?" Rotor asked.

"Yes, there was no suspicious activity at all." Knuckles answered.

Rotor grinned,

"Awesome. It was smart of Sally to send the Chaotix just in case."

Knuckles frowned,

"Yeah, but it turns out we have an entirely different problem right now."

The walrus stared at the monitor curiously,

"What is it?"

The echidna starts to growl,

"It's Rouge. Vector got some info and told me she has stolen the Master Emerald. Now she's planning on selling it to the Mobian with the highest offer…"

Rotor jumped to his feet in surprise,

"What?! Why would Rouge sell it? I thought she wanted it for herself. I have to let the others know about this."

Sonic and the others walk in just as he finishes his sentence,

"No need, Rote. We're here."

Sally notices Knuckles irritated look on the monitor and asks,

"Knuckles, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

Knuckles answers her,

"No. Apparently, Rouge stole the Master Emerald and is selling it to the highest bidder. I was told the deal was happening in the middle of the Marshlands, but I'm too

far away to make it there in time. That, and I don't have my warp ring."

He then requests,

"Do you think you can check it out for me?"

Sally thought,

'We do owe him for sending the Chaotix to help Mina... But Antoine just proposed to Bunnie. I don't want to send them on a mission right after the fact.'

She reluctantly answers,

"Alright, Knuckles. You get back to the Chaotix. We'll cover you on this one."

 **Later in the evening, the Freedom Fighters find themselves in the Marshlands, preparing for the Master Emerald bid.**

Sonic and Sally were hiding on a hill, while Antoine and Bunnie are far across from them using a tree as cover.

Sally felt her guilt start to rise as she looked through her binoculars,

"Sonic, this doesn't feel right. I shouldn't have told Antoine and Bunnie to come with us... they just got engaged."

"I getcha, Sal. It doesn't sit well with me, either. Rouge is definitely gonna answer for this." Sonic agreed.

Meanwhile by the tree, Bunnie and Antoine notice that Nack the Weasel is approaching them with his ride, The Marvelous Queen.

Bunnie nudges Antoine,

"Trouble approachin', Sugar-Twan. You ready?"

Antoine smiles,

"Oui, my beautiful fiancé."

Bunnie jumps out from behind the tree,

"Stop right there, Nack!"

Nack brakes and frowns at the rabbit,

"Bunnie Rabbot…"

"The one an' only. So, what're ya doin' tryna steal the Master Emerald?" Bunnie asked.

The weasel raised an eyebrow,

"Huh? I'm not trying to steal anything. I'm only out here for a reconnaissance job."

He then grins,

"But stealing the Master Emerald sounds much more appealing. I may as well search the area for it."

Nack starts to drive away, yelling,

"Hasta la vista, suckers! Thanks for the intel!"

Bunnie prevents him from getting far by extending her robotic arm and knocking Nack off the vehicle.

The Rabbot smiles smugly,

"Where do ya think **_yer_** goin'?"

The weasel lands on his tail and coils upwards, firing a shot from his gun,

"Nice try, toots."

Sonic and Sally hear the shot and stand up,

"It's time to party, Sal." Sonic said.

"Hold up, Sonic. It looks like we got company too." Sally warned.

Suddenly, Bean and Bark show up behind them on extreme gear hover-boards.

Back near the tree, Bunnie dodges Nack's laser blast by jumping to the side. Antoine sneaks under the weasel just as he's about to land and slices his gun in half.

His fiance takes advantage of this and launches her fist right into the hooligan's chin, which immediately incapacitates him.

"Nice one, Sugar-Twan!" Bunnie cheered.

Antoine smirks,

"Merci, mon amour."

The cybernetic rabbit points to the hills,

"Now let's get back to Sally-girl and Sugar-hog."

Antoine ties up Nack and places him on his vehicle. He then gets on the Marvelous Queen and drives towards the hills with Bunnie flying beside him.

At this instant, Sonic and Sally both avoid being run over by Bean and Bark.

"Hey! It's the high-speed pin cushion and his squirrely girlfriend!" Bean yelled.

Sally let out a frustrated sigh,

"How many times do I have to say this? I'm a chipmunk, not a squirrel."

Sonic felt annoyed as well,

"What do you dunces want with the Master Emerald?"

"Nuthin' special. Our boss gave us a job to take it before anybody else gets to it." Bean answered.

The princess angrily points to the ground,

"That's not going to happen. You two are going down."

"Yeah! Plus, I want some payback for the headache you gave me on my birthday bash!" Sonic agreed.

He jumped on Bean's back and gave him an extremely rough noogie.

While that's happening, Sally decides to focus on Bark,

"Alright, show me what you got."

Bark tries to run her down, but the princess, anticipating this, leans back and grabs the hover-board as Bark passes over her. She then uses its' momentum to flip the

board over with her foot, sending the bear flying into the air. He slams into the ground with a large impact and the board lands on his head, knocking him out.

Sally saunters up to him with a satisfied smile,

"When I said you're going down, I really meant it."

Bunnie and Antoine saw the the whole sequence while approaching her,

"That was awesome, Sally-girl!" Bunnie complimented.

Sally smiles at the two,

"It seems you both handled Nack with no problems."

Antoine nods while smiling,

"Oui, ma princess."

Bunnie looks around,

"Where's Sugar-hog?"

"He's still handling Bean." Sally answered.

Bean and Sonic continue to soar through the sky in circles, with Bean laughing the entire time.

"Geez, do you have an off button?!" Sonic yelled, still on the duck's back.

"You're not having fun, Mr. Needlemouse?" Bean asked.

Sonic answers the question with a kick straight to his head, finally disabling him.

"I think I found that off button!"

The hedgehog grabs Bean by the hair and uses the board to fly down to the others.

He grins heartily at all his friends,

"Wow, you guys cleaned up quickly!"

Sally gets in the driver's seat of the Marvelous Queen after Antoine gets off.

"That means a lot coming from you, Blue. Now it's time to confront Rouge." she instructed, growing a determined smile.

 **Somewhere in the middle of the Marshlands, Rouge is on top of the covered up Master Emerald, waitng...**

The bat sighs,

"Y'know, you'd think offering the Master Emerald would attract more attention."

A deep voice is then heard from behind her,

"Have no doubt, ma'am. Your offer has definitely caught my attention."

Rouge turns around and was shocked to see Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus.

"What are you two doing here?! I thought Robotnik captured you!"

Mogul smirks,

"We _**were**_ imprisoned for some time. After Doctor Eggman teleported us to his egg grapes, some swine by the name of Finitevus, released my Destructix team and

they pledged loyalty to him. In order to protect myself from the egg grape's effects, I used Ixis Naugus's life force to shield myself. Soon a creature which went by the

name "Anonymous" freed us and stole my chaos emerald, severely draining my powers. Ixis Naugus had lost his mind as well due to the egg grapes."

He then rubs his hands together and a mischievous grin appears on his face,

"With this gem however, my power will be restored!"

He was about to unclothe the emerald but Sonic jumps on top of it with Bunnie hovering down next to him too.

"What's up with villains and their boring monologues?" the hedgehog joked.

Mogul starts growling,

"Sonic!"

A smug smile spread across the hedgehog's muzzle,

"Sup, Mogut. Nice to see your ugly mug again."

The mammoth's anger rose,

"It is foolish to provoke me, you annoying rodent. Naugus can shadow meld and appear anywhere before you can-"

Sonic cuts him off,

"Bunnie, punch the wall behind you."

"Alright, Sugar-hog." Bunnie said.

She lifts her fist upward with force and knocks out Naugus, who was trying to ambush them from behind.

The Blue Blur chuckles,

"Ha! Predictable as always, Naugy."

He focuses back on Mogul and asks,

"So, Mogul. Are you gonna come quietly, or are you gonna make a scene?"

Mogul glowed green with power,

"I will not fall to you Mobian pests. My power still exceeds yours and—"

He is then cut off again by Sally driving the Marvelous Queen off a cliff.

The chipmunk had a mischievous grin,

"You have the right to remain silent!"

She bounces off of Mogul's head, immediately incapacitating him.

Sonic whistles,

"Now that was hot, babe!" he shouted with a thumbs up.

Sally blushes,

"Thank you."

The princess smiled cheekily at her best friend,

"Bunnie, tell Antoine we're going to need some extra lasso."

Bunnie laughs,

"You got it, Sal-gal!" she yelled and flew off in Antoine's direction.

Rouge walks towards them clapping,

"Well done guys, well done."

Both Sonic and Sally glare at the G.U.N. Agent,

"You have some explaining to do, Rouge. Unless you want to get tied up yourself."

The bat put her hands up defensively,

"Wait, hold your horses. I'm on your side."

"If that's true then why did you steal the Master Emerald?" Sonic asked

Rouge smirks,

"I didn't steal anything."

She removes the cloth and reveals that the Master Emerald was really just a table with a lantern underneath it,

"See? It was bait to lure any convicts in the vicinity."

This confused Sonic,

"Why wouldn't you tell us about this?"

Rouge walks up to both of them and points a thumb at her chest, smiling suavely,

"Because this bat flies solo. I perform best when I'm alone."

Sally glared at her intensely, asking,

"Okay, so why do this for us?"

Rouge waves her hand,

"It wasn't for you…it was for Knuckles. I wanted to show him that I can be a good girl and play by the rules." she answered, looking up at the sky with a blush.

"The ends doesn't justify the means, Rouge. Knuckles was extremely angry at the idea that you stole the Master Emerald, which would cause his island to fall." the

princess argued.

Rouge starts to walk towards the Marvelous Queen,

"Relax, princess. We ended up stopping the bad guys at the end of the day, didn't we? Isn't that enough?"

Sonic and Sally stare at each other briefly before shrugging. They were both too tired to argue at this point.

After about ten minutes, the gang finishes tying up the last of the baddies and placing them on the Marvelous Queen.

Bunnie and Antoine approach Sonic and Sally while holding each other.

"Sugar-hog… Sally-girl… me and Antoine were wonderin' if y'all would the best man and maid of honor for our weddin'?" Bunnie asked.

Sonic grew a big smile,

"What are you kidding? You bet we will!"

He turns to the princess,

"Right, Sal?"

Sally grinned,

"Of course!"

Sonic gazes up at the stars,

"Woo-boy! The future sure is looking bright, Freedom Fighters!"

He then picks up Sally and motions for the others to follow,

"Now let's get back to Knothole! We gotta spread the good news to everyone!"

Rouge starts driving the Marvelous Queen and Bunnie takes off with Antoine in her arms. They all head back to Knothole at an incredible pace just as the sun sets.

 **End**


	9. Wedding Bells

**Wedding Bells (Issue 174 Redone)**

 **At Sonic's hut, everybody is getting prepared for the wedding of Antoine and Bunnie...**

Sonic is adjusting his suit, looking into a mirror as his Uncle Chuck comes in to see if he's finished.

The elderly hedgehog raise both eyebrows and smiled,

"Wow, Sonny! You clean up nicely. That blazer really suits you."

Sonic admired himself in the mirror,

"Thanks Unc. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of dressing all formal. But even I'll admit I look pretty good."

"I'm sure Princess Sally will think so too, darling. It was nice of you to accept Antoine's offer of being the best man." Bernadette said.

The Blue Blur gives him mom a warm smile,

"Antoine and I didn't have the best friendship at first. Back then we always made fun of each other and fought over Sal. But he's grown on me a lot over the

years, and now I consider him good friend. I'm glad to be the best man."

"It's not often we hear such mushy talk from you, son." Jules jested.

Sonic smirks,

"Heh, well I only show this side to a few people. I'm still considered the coolest of the cool; The "Hero of Mobius". I don't want the public thinking I'm soft."

Tails walks into the living room with a giddy grin, looking great in his suit as well.

"Sonic, it's time to go!"

"Sweet! I'll see you guys later. We're gonna go bother Antoine for a bit and then I'm stopping by Bunnie's place to see Sal." Sonic said, walking towards Tails.

"Alright, you two. We'll see you at the wedding. Also, no running while in the suit, Sonic. I don't want you getting it dirty." Bernadette ordered.

Sonic blushes in embarrassment, making Tails snicker a little.

As they both start heading to Antoine's place, the blue hedgehog sighs and glances his "lil bro",

"Please don't tell me your parents are that bad, Tails."

"Ha! You think you have it tough? My parents are even worse. But that's why I love them." Tails replied, laughing lightly afterwards.

Sonic smirks with half closed eyes,

"Gotta say you're looking pretty sharp, lil bro. Who you tryna impress?"

Tails smirks back and nudges Sonic's shoulder,

"Nobody, you jerk. I'm only dressed like this because you have to be."

They go down Antoine's stairs to see Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix, encouraging the Groom. Knuckles spots the two and walks towards them, grinning. He was

dressed in some special echidna attire that they haven't seen before.

"Hey! How's it going True Blue, Tails?" he asked.

Sonic grins as well,

"Everything's cool, Rad Red." he answered before pointing at Knuckles clothes.

"I'm digging the new threads by the way."

"Oh, this? It's just something us echidna's wear for ceremonies like this." Knuckles explained.

The echidna follows up his explanation with a friendly punch to the hedgehog's shoulder,

"So, you ready to be the best man?" he asked.

Sonic's grin grew wider,

"You bet, Knux! I'm _always_ the best man!"

Tails looks at all the Chaotix comforting Antoine but notices that someone is missing,

"Where's Espio, Knuckles? I thought all of the Chaotix were going to be at the wedding."

Knuckles frowns and crosses his arms,

"Espio went on an espionage mission about an hour ago. We tried to convince him to stay be he wouldn't listen. He did promise that he'd be back before the wedding

started, though."

This made the young fox grow a look of concern,

"Why would he go alone, though?"

"You guys know how Espio is… he thinks he can always get away unseen." the echidna muttered.

"Well, from what I'm seeing it looks like you guys have things covered here. So I guess I'm gonna go." Sonic said before turning to Tails.

"You coming with, bud?"

"Actually, I'm going to stick around here for a bit. I want to catch up with Ray and Mighty." Tails answered.

"That's cool. I'll see you all at the wedding then." the Blue Blur states with a thumbs up.

Everybody waved goodbye and returned their attention back to Antoine.

Sonic rushes over to Bunnie's hut and spots Amy as she's exiting the place.

The rosy hedgehog smiles softly as he approaches.

Sonic returns the smile,

"Sup, Amy. You look great!"

Amy blushes in response,

"Thank you, Sonic. You're sweet."

She then tilts her head slightly and asks,

"Have you seen Tails at all? I want to hang out with him before the wedding."

"Tails is back at Antoine's place along with Knuckles and the Chaotix. You won't believe it, but Vector is giving 'twan marriage advice." Sonic answered.

Amy raised a eyebrow,

"I don't know if I like the sound of that. What if he tells him something stupid?"

Sonic waved a hand,

"Pfft, what? Of course he wouldn't. The dude is obviously a love guru."

Amy giggled,

"That'll be the day! Anyways, I'll see you at the wedding."

They both waved goodbye and went their separate ways.

Sonic knocks on Bunnie's door, which Rosie opens instantly.

Rosie smile grew broad after examining his appearance,

"My, my, don't you look mighty attractive, Sonic."

The hedgehog was trying to suppress his nervous smile (but failed),

"Uh, thanks... Can I come in?"

"Of course, dear." she answered.

Sonic steps inside to see both Bunnie and Sally in beautiful dresses. The chipmunk was busy helping her best friend zip the back of her dress. Our blue hero finds

himself staring at the princess's beauty without even realizing it.

He quickly snaps out of the trance, though.

"Hey, ladies!" he announced.

Sally's eyes shift in his direction and she smiles with her eyes half closed.

Sonic pointed a thumb at his chest and smirked to show his confidence and hide his blatant attraction,

"Whaddaya think, Sal? Do I look hunky or what?"

The princess sauntered over to the secretly nervous hedgehog, and pulled him in for nice, long kiss on his lips.

After a few seconds, she separates from him and smirks,

"Does that answer your question, handsome?"

Sonic averted his eyes to the side while rubbing the back of his head. He had a sheepish smile on his muzzle along with red cheeks.

"Y-yeah, Sal… that… answered my question pretty clearly."

Sally and Bunnie laugh at his shy expression.

The rabbit smiled cheekily at the couple, stating,

"You two're just so darn cute together. It makes mah heart melt."

This causes both of her friends to blush.

The hedgehog wanted to change the subject quickly,

"Y-you look great, Bunnie. That dress is pretty sweet."

"Thanks, Sugar-hog. It's all thanks to Sally-girl. She helped me do mah hair and picked out the perfect lil dress." Bunnie replied.

"I was glad to help, Bunnie. Although, I do find it ironic that the person who originally wanted to be my hairdresser got her hair done by me." Sally recalled.

The rabbit was looking in the mirror and admiring Sally's work again,

"And ah still do, Sal-Gal. Whenevah I'm not busy fightin' Robotnik or spendin' time with mah husband, of course." she reassured.

"W-we're all proud of you, Buns. You and 'Twan have been close for a while now. It was only a matter of time before the two of you got hitched." Sonic commented.

Bunnie hugs both of her friends,

"Ah'm so happy to have gotten a man like Antoine. We've been through so much together. It's only right that we're always there to support each other."

After breaking the hug, Sonic decides to sit down in a chair nearby and relax for a minute as the other three continue to converse.

Rosie walks in the middle of the three Freedom Fighters and says,

"I'm proud of all of you. I've watched you protect Mobius ever since you were children and you've all grown into such amazing people."

Bunnie hugs the aunt,

"We appreciate the kind words, Rosie."

The rabbit then looks at her best friend with a knowing smile,

"And maybe Sally and Sonic will follow mah lead and marry soon as well."

Sally smirks back at Bunnie,

"Oh, no, you don't. Me and Sonic promised to get married after Robotnik has been dealt with. Besides, we're perfectly happy just being boyfriend and girlfriend right

now."

"Suuure you guys are!" Rosie and Bunnie teased.

Everyone laughs except for Sonic, who was still relaxing in the chair with his eyes closed.

Sally slaps the Blue Blur on the chest playfully which wakes him up,

"C'mon, Mr. Hunk. Let's head to the castle. Elias and my parents wanted to see us."

Sonic grinned innocently at his partner,

"Y-yeah, right."

"We'll see you at the wedding, Bunnie." Sally said.

"Alrighty, see y'all there!" Bunnie exclaimed.

Sonic and Sally exit Bunnie's hut and start to go towards Castle Acorn, holding hands.

The hedgehog looked somewhat troubled and felt a weird urge to apologize,

"Sorry about that back there, Sal…"

"Sorry about what? You didn't do anything wrong." Sally chortled.

Sonic looks at her with both eyebrows raised,

"I was acting all weird. I'm not really a romantic guy, so I'm bad at handling situations like the one at Bunnie's crib and I get flustered when things

get too lovey dovey. Heck, I only dressed like this to support 'Twan."

Sally pulls him closer and kisses his cheek,

"It's okay, Blue. I'm not perfect when it comes to romance either. I didn't even know how to properly admit my love for you without coming off as odd."

The chipmunk then finds herself glaring at the dress she was wearing,

"Also, I honestly don't like dressing this way either. I prefer more casual clothes that don't give me problems when trying to climb stairs."

Sonic chuckles at her last sentence and faces forward again,

"I guess I'm just afraid to show my softer side is all..."

"You don't have to hide your softer side from me, Sonic." Sally reassured.

The princess then smirks,

"And besides, I'll always think you're the _coolest_." she teased.

Sonic laughs and smirks back at her,

"I think you're way past cool too, Sal."

Sally hearing this, leans her head on his shoulder as they get closer to the castle. They soon catch Knuckles standing in the courtyard before the castle

entrance, with a frown on his face. Both of them wanted to see what the problem was, so they walk over to him.

"Yo, Knux. You alright dude?" Sonic asked.

"I'm fine… It's just that I still haven't heard from Espio. He's running out of time." Knuckles muttered.

Sally was about to ask where Espio was, but a voice is heard from behind the three of them,

"Hey… Knuckles…"

Knuckles turns to see Julie-Su wearing a dress with the same characteristics his clothes had, causing him to smile,

"Julie-Su? You look amazing!"

"She does. That dress is beautiful." Sally agreed.

Julie-Su frowned in annoyance,

"Thanks, you guys are sweet… I hate dressing like this."

Sonic and Sally stare at each other,

"We can relate..." Sonic muttered.

Julie-Su sighs,

"It's only for today, though. So I guess I can deal with it." she said, grabbing Knuckles' hand afterwards.

Sonic grins,

"Y'know, I've been wondering when you and Knux are gonna tie the knot."

The pink echidna frowns again,

"We didn't have any ceremonies like this in the Dark Legion nor do we need them. Besides, I really don't want to dress up like this anymore than I have to."

"Su is right, True Blue. We promised to commit to each other and her word is good enough for me. We don't need a ceremony like Antoine and Bunnie." Knuckles

explained.

"We understand, Knuckles." Sally said.

"Alright, we gotta head to the castle. We'll see you two in a bit." Sonic replied.

Sonic and Sally quickly make their way into the castle. When they arrive in the throne room, they see Sally's parents, as well as her brother and his wife.

Elias smiles at the both of them,

"There they are. Glad you two could make it in time."

Sally goes over to her brother and hugs him,

"How are you doing Elias?"

"All is well in Knothole, sis. The final preparations for the wedding are being made as we speak." he answered.

Sally goes to embraces both of her parents with a warm smile,

"Hi, mom and dad."

Both parents return the gesture,

"Sally dear, you look lovely!" Alicia said.

"Yes, your mother's old dress accommodates you rather well." Max agreed.

Sally blushes and looks to the side with modesty,

"Oh, thanks."

"So are you both ready for the wedding?" Elias asked.

Sally walks over to Sonic and the hedgehog puts his arms around her. Both smile at each other and then at Elias.

"You bet we're ready, your highness." Sonic answered.

Alicia turns to her husband,

"They make such a lovely couple don't they, Maximillian?"

The former king nods in agreement with his own smile,

"I had my doubts about Sonic at first, but he has proven to me that he can take care of my little bean."

After a few minutes, Tails walks in with his own parents.

Sonic immediately grinned at the sight of them,

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Prower!"

"Hello, Sonic." Amadeus answered.

Rosemary bowed respectfully,

"It's always good to see you."

Elias walks up Amadeus and shakes his hand,

"Commander Prower, thank you again for leading the honor guard! I'm sure the bride and groom will love having them at the wedding."

"Tis not a problem, my liege. It was admirable of you to arrange this wedding on such short notice. It will be a beautiful union, no doubt." Amadeus replied.

"The honor is mine, Amadeus." Elias agreed.

"And that specifically, is the reason I'm so optimistic for the Great Nation of Knothole." Amadeus stated, walking away with his wife.

"So enjoy that power while you can. Because soon it will be gone." the former commander muttered to himself.

Tails flew inside the throne room after going to get a clipboard for the attendance sheet. The young fox also catches what his father says.

He gave his father a puzzling stare,

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, son. Your mother and I just have some ideas to make the lives of everyone in Knothole better." Amadeus answered.

"Alright..." Tails replied before turning his attention to Rosemary and handing her the clipboard.

"Here you go, mom. I updated the attendance sheet for the wedding. The only person missing is Espio."

Rosemary pets her son's head with a smile,

"Thank you, Tails."

 **About thirty minutes later, everybody is settled…**

The wedding music begins to play; Amy as the flower girl walks across the carpet, spreading petals everywhere with Rotor following her. Then Sally, being the maid of

honor, comes down the aisle guiding a very nervous Antoine to the altar. She then steps down and slightly to the side. The best man, Sonic, comes down next, guiding

Bunnie to the altar. He then goes to Sally and holds her close as Elias stands between Bunnie and Antoine (who is still trying to calm himself down).

Soon Elias begins to speak,

"People of Knothole! Today we have gathered here to watch a beautiful union between the lovely Bunnie Rabbot and the brave Antoine D'Coolette. As Freedom

Fighters, they have lost a great deal in our struggle for liberation. But today that doesn't matter. It is because of their years of dedication and selflessness that we can

enjoy this small moment of absolute happiness. Today I will repay their efforts by uniting these two for life."

Elias looks at Sonic,

"Best man, will you please pass me the wedding rings?" he asked.

Sonic walks up to Elias, giving him a case with both rings in it before going back to Sally's side.

"Now both of you place the rings on each other's fingers and hold hands." Elias instructed.

Bunnie and Antoine follow his orders, both with tears of joy in their eyes. They then hold hands while gazing into each other's eyes.

Elias turns to Antoine,

"Antoine, do you take Bunnie to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for

richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?" he asked.

"I do." Antoine said still tearing up.

Elias then turns to Bunnie,

"Bunnie, do you take Antoine to be your wedded husband to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or

worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?" he asked again.

"Ah do." Bunnie stammered through her tears.

"Should anyone here present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace!" Elias shouted.

There was dead silence for ten seconds.

"Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!" Elias exclaimed.

Antoine and Bunnie hold each other close and give each other their longest and most passionate kiss. Everyone cheers as the honor guard raises their swords. Tails

flies into the sky with major enthusiasm and Amy cries intensely. Sonic, who is still holding Sally, looks at her and sees small tears of joy in her eyes. He leans his head

on hers and rubs her back to comfort her as they both look at the newlyweds with warm smiles.

 **End**


	10. Eggman's Devastating Plot

**Eggman's Devastating Plot (Issue 175-177 Redone)**

 **During the morning of Antoine and Bunnie's wedding, Espio decides to go on an espionage mission to New Megaopolis. His team tried to convince him to**

 **remain with them, but** **the chameleon was too skeptical about Robotnik and went against their wishes. However, he did promise them that he'd return by the**

 **time the wedding started.**

'I'm sorry, Knuckles. I know that you wanted me to stay for the wedding, but Dr. Robotnik has been quiet for too long and I'm terribly suspicious.' Espio thought as he

approached New Megaopolis.

He surveys the area and sees Egg Pawns patrolling the ground, while Egg Flappers cover the air with search lights. Using his skills as a chameleon, he blends into the

surroundings. This allowed him to walk past the badniks and get to the entrance of Eggman's base. The front was obviously locked, so Espio climbs up the structure in

hopes of finding an opening. After searching almost the entire exterior of the building, he finds a ventilation grate near the top of Eggman's Tower. The grating was

sealed pretty tightly and while he **_could_ ** break it, doing so would blow his cover. Luckily, he came prepared with his extremely sharp shurikens and he thought that the

screws were thin enough that he could eventually saw through them with a sufficient amount of effort. After ten minutes of vigorous cutting, he finally opens the grate

and slowly sets it down to prevent making noise. When he finally gets inside the headquarters, he starts searching for clues on what Eggman's up to. Sadly, the only

things he was able to come across were some spare robot parts and wooden crates. That is, until he stumbles upon what looks to be two giant battle suits. One had

the figure of Eggman and the other one was simply a green mech.

'This is some incredibly powerful battle armor. The doctor is most likely planning something huge. I must find more evidence! I need to know exactly what he's up to!'

he thought.

The chameleon continues searching around until he crosses the bridge to Eggman's computer room. There was a huge monitor inside of the room, and what it

displayed made Espio gasp in horror. Eggman's entire plan was revealed to him right then and there. The mad scientist discovered the location of Knothole,

and was planning to send all the residents to his new Egg Vineyard. Robotnik was fully prepared, too. He upgraded the armament on his Egg Fleet ships and made

that green suit of armor he found earlier for Snively. But the thing that terrified Espio the most was what he read about Eggman's power armor and its purpose.

'...Oh no… I must get back to the others quickly!'

He bolts across the bridge, wanting to get back to Knothole as soon as possible. But the chameleon didn't realize how much commotion this caused, since an Egg

Flapper immediately spots him and sets the base's alarm off. Espio, full of adrenalin, completely ignores the alarm and jumps out of the ventilation shaft. As he runs, a

mass of badniks try to corner him, forcing him to jump over as many as he can. He tried throwing shurikens to slow some of them down, but more kept on coming. He

eventually runs into a dead end and all the robots start closing in on him.

"Stop! Cease fire and stand aside!" Eggman commanded.

Eggman struts through his robots and stops in front of the pink intruder.

The tyrant's malicious grin appears,

"Well, if it isn't Espio. You thought you could just sneak into my base and then leave without answering to me?"

"Don't patronize me, Robotnik! I saw your plan! It will never work! The Freedom Fighters will stop you and come for me!" Espio exclaimed.

Eggman simply raises his hand and blasts him with a beam, teleporting him away,

"Oh, it will work. Knothole doesn't stand a chance!"

Snively comes next to his uncle, having his own evil grin,

"Everything is ready to go, Uncle Julian."

"Excellent! Get ready to launch soon, Snively."

 **Freedom HQ, two hours after the wedding…**

Everyone is having a good time relaxing in the common room of the base. Vector and Mighty are playing games on the T.V. and Sonic was messing with his guitar.

Knuckles, however, was the only one who was in a rotten mood. The echidna was worried about a certain chameleon not returning from his mission.

"It's been two hours since the wedding. Something must've happened to him. I say we should all search for him. Who's with me?" Knuckles protested.

No response...

The red echidna starts seething,

"Are any of you listening?!"

Julie-Su walks towards Knuckles and put her hands around his arm,

"Would you relax? You know how Espio is. He'd get upset if we tried to go find him."

"He's a master of spying and espionage, Su. I know he's capable. But something is wrong this time, I feel it in my gut." Knuckles replied.

Rouge overhears Knuckles and comes to his side with a smirk appearing on her muzzle,

"You shouldn't doubt a guardian's instinct, Julie-Su. Let's go, Knuckles. I'll look for Espio with you." the bat insisted, grabbing his arm.

Knuckles smiles,

"You'd do that, Rouge?"

Julie-Su snaps,

"Rouge would do anything for your attention!"

"You watch your trap, you loudmouth!" Rouge yelled.

"I'm not a loudmouth, you dirty hustler!" Julie-Su yelled back.

Knuckles simply face palms at the girls fighting over him.

While the arguing is happening, Sally comes downstairs and makes her way over to Sonic. Her blue goofball was leaning against the couch arm, playing a relaxing song

on his guitar.

This brought a smile to her face,

"I forgot how good you are at playing the guitar, Blue. That tune you're strumming is soothing to the ears."

She leans over the couch and kisses Sonic on his forehead.

The hedgehog smiles up at her in response,

"I've always loved playing this thing, but I never get the time to jam. It's kinda nice that we can have some banter and just chill."

He then sat up and returned the kiss on the chipmunk's lips, making her blush lightly.

"I guess that's a good sign then. The future is looking bright just like you said." Sally continued.

"You bet! Things have been pretty sweet in Knothole, and now we have Freedom HQ to escape to if we need some space." Sonic agreed.

Sally sits next to Sonic,

"Our monarchy is young and strong now that Elias has taken the throne, and a lot of families' are re-uniting after being separated for so long."

The Blue Blur grew a small frown,

"We're just shy of perfect, though. Eggman's still out there and I can't shake the feeling that he's planning something big... The creep hasn't attacked us in a while and

it's starting to irk me."

* * *

Inside the computer room upstairs, Tails and Rotor are both sitting in rolling chairs, chatting while drinking hot cocoa. Amy is also conversing with them as she checks

Nicole's monitor. All three of them were keeping an eye on her diagnostic. The holo-lynx had been functioning sub optimally all day, so Sally had her run a diagnostic to

see if they can fix the problem.

"Diagnostic complete, systems clearing up…" Nicole said.

There's bit of silence... and then the base's alarm goes off.

Nicole yells,

"We're under attack!"

The warning was too late, though. The roof of Freedom HQ immediately gets torn off by a grinning Snively, who is using his green battle suit.

"Oh, would you look at that? All the Freedom Fighters bunched up together like helpless cattle. How convenient!"

Amy and Tails jump to cover, dodging the teleportation lasers the mech started to fire.

Snively scoffs, turning his green battle suit towards Rotor instead and firing. The walrus tries to dodge, but is too slow to act and was blasted as a result.

"Rotor!" Tails and Amy screamed out.

Snively also catches Antoine as he exits from one of the HQ's many rooms, making Bunnie extremely livid. Then he blasts Knuckles and all the Chaotix, leaving only Sonic, Sally and Bunnie to challenge him.

"Bunnie, lead him outside so we can make a plan!" Sally ordered.

"Gotcha, Sally-Girl! He'll pay for taking Antoine away from me!" Bunnie yelled.

She slams into the suit, pushing it away from the HQ.

Sally quickly turns to Sonic,

"Sonic, I want you to prioritize taking the arms out since he can only fire those beams from his hands. I need to retrieve Nicole, Amy, and Tails from

the computer room. We should be able to stop him if all of us attack at once."

"I gotcha!" Sonic responded.

As he started to climb out of the HQ, Bunnie is busy dodging all the lasers Snively was barraging her with. The Rabbot transforms her arm into a pulse cannon and

fires two enormous laser blasts directly at Snively. The little man dodges the first one but the second one catches the machine's left arm, causing it to explode. She

was ready to fire another shot, but is too drained from the first two.

Snively takes advantage of this, laughing at the poor rabbit,

"It would seem that your lasers attacks are tied to your life force. Well, that's too bad! Get ready to join your husband!"

He blasts Bunnie with his right arm, teleporting her away.

Sonic made it out of the HQ, but was too late to help Bunnie. He impulsively tries to spin dash directly into the battle suit's chest, but only dents it and bounces off.

The hedgehog was shocked by the durability of the suit,

"Huh? What's that stuff made of?!"

Snively sneers,

"It doesn't matter, you blue cretin! I've done my part and distracted you all, so I think I'll take my leave now!"

Snively ejected his cockpit and set the suit to self-destruct. The explosion causes rubble to fill Freedom HQ, thus trapping Sally, Tails, and Amy in the computer room.

The eruption also sends Sonic flying on top of the debris.

"He was... just the distraction?" the hedgehog asked while getting back to his feet.

"He's talking about Knothole, Sonic! Robotnik must be attacking the city! Don't worry about us being trapped in here, we'll dig our way out! Just stop him!" Sally

screamed out through the crevices.

"Don't worry, I've got things covered!" Sonic reassured.

He takes off towards Knothole with a look of determination,

'I'm the fastest thing alive. I can make it to Knothole before it's too late.' he thought.

As he approaches the city, his eyes widen. Everything has been destroyed by the Egg Fleet. The Lake of Rings, Chuck's Diner, even his own house had been

reduced to nothing but rubble and flames. His hopes go up when he spots Castle Acorn still standing, but those hopes get crushed by Eggman destroying it with his

new battle suit.

"Aaagh!" Sonic screamed as the explosion made him fly backwards.

"You're late, rodent. Tell me, how does it feel to be too slow?" Eggman taunted.

The hedgehog became enraged,

"You've really done it this time, Eggman! You vaporized everybody that I cared about and destroyed my home!"

Eggman's grin grew wider,

"They weren't vaporized, Sonic. They were teleported to my egg grapes where I will use them as fuel for my city."

Sonic smirk slowly returned after hearing this.

His hope was restored,

"Snotly didn't zap me, though. And I'm glad, too. I'm gonna make you pay for destroying Knothole, and I'm gonna save everyone!"

Maniacal laughter escapes from the Robotnik's mouth,

"You ignorant child! I told Snively to leave you for me! I'm going to pound you into dust, you blue runt!" he threatened and fired a barrage of missiles.

Sonic jumps over the first set of missiles and slides under the second set.

While avoiding the onslaught of projectiles, Eggman continues to ridicule him,

"I find it amazing that you continue to preserve your positive attitude. You and your Freedom Fighters have suffered so many defeats as of late. You say you'll save

everyone, but you couldn't even save Tommy Turtle or Sir Connery. You Freedom Fighters are alive only because I took over Mobius so easily. I needed something to

keep me entertained, which is why I haven't destroyed you yet. Now that I've become disinterested with you Mobians, I'm going annihilate you all!"

Sonic scoffs,

"That's a lie and you know it! We've beaten you before and we'll do it again! You're not gonna get in my head!"

The Blue Blur smirks once more and continues to push forward. He jumps off of the missiles one by one until he's in spin dash range. He tries to aim for the cockpit but

Robotnik lifts his bumper shield up to block it. The spin-dash puts multiple dents into the shield, but can't break through. As he recovers, the mad scientist flings his

wrecking ball right at him, with the hedgehog jumping to the side as it barely grazes his foot. Eggman anticipates this and intercepts Sonic's dodge with a laser,

getting a direct hit.

"Ack!" Sonic yelled.

'Geez, that really stung! How did he move so fast?' he thought.

"Hahaha! What's the matter, Sonic? Can't keep up? You can try all you want hedgehog, but this fight is impossible for you to overcome." Eggman continued taunting.

"You're all bark and no bite, doc! This battle just got started!" Sonic answered.

He does another strong spin dash and cracks the bumper shield.

"Wrong! This battle was finished before it even started! This battle suit was explicitly made to outclass your strength and speed! You _**can't**_ win!" the doctor clarified.

Sonic was jumping around, trying to find an opening, but Robotnik lands another direct laser and slams the wrecking into his head.

The hedgehog crashes into the ground, with bruises appearing all over his body. He jumps back to his feet and starts breathing at a fast rate.

'This "suit" sure packs a punch. I think it's time to kick things up a notch.' he thought.

Eggman starts walking towards Sonic, still laughing,

"Well it would seem that we've reached your limit, rodent. I've examined you from the day you were born and have learned everything there is to know about you.

There's nothing you can do now."

This only made the hedgehog laugh,

"Ha! That's what you think, but there are still some tricks I haven't shown you yet!"

Sonic turns his back to Eggman and runs away faster than he ever has in the past, creating a sonic boom.

"Egad! Snively, where is the rodent going?! Use those spy satellites to track him down!" Eggman commanded.

Snively stares at his radar with a gaping mouth,

"Sir, he's moving a lot faster than you calculated! He's already past the east coast, and still moving!"

Sonic finally skids to a stop and turns back in Eggman's direction. Then the Blue Blue starts to charge a super peel out, forming a figure eight.

'I'm taking a huge risk by doing this. If I build up enough momentum, I can bust right through that tin can of his and end this. But if this goes wrong, I can get seriously

mess my body up…' he thought.

He shakes his head and a grin of willpower spreads across his muzzle,

"It's all or nothing now!"

He releases the peel out and rockets straight towards Eggman. He attempts to build as much speed as he possibly can, using every ounce of his strength.

"Sir, he's heading straight for you!" Snively warned.

By the time Snively finished his sentence, Sonic had already reached Eggman, who was holding up his shield. Sonic turns into a ball at the last second and makes

impact, pushing Eggman through one of Freedom HQ's walls. He breaks through the shield first and then scores a direct hit on the battle suit's body. He severely

damages the suit by denting a leg, breaking an arm off, and destroying the missile launchers on its back. The impact however, also severely harms the blue hedgehog.

Sonic struggles to stand up, panting heavily in the process,

"Oh, man…I knew... it would…be risky, but…I didn't think... I'd be... this… ** _drained_**..."

"That's excellent news, rodent!" Eggman exclaimed.

Eggman's battle suit was heavily damaged but it was still able to stand and the wrecking ball arm was still intact. So the doctor got up and slammed the wrecking ball

into the rodent multiple times, making sure he was unconscious.

Once he finished, he picked up the seemingly lifeless body and grinned triumphantly,

"That was valiant effort, my annoying adversary. You put up a good fight… but now you've finally met your match."

Robotnik looks around at all the destruction he caused with glee,

"I could destroy you now... but by the time you regain consciousness, you're friends and family will be gone and this defeat will haunt you until the day you die. I will

spare you knowing this."

He threw Sonic into the ground like a piece of trash and flew away with his Egg Fleet.

"Sayonara, rodent! I've got to repair the damages to this suit before I drain you're fellow Mobians of all their life!"

Sally, Tails, and Amy finally dug their way out of the rubble that trapped them in Freedom HQ's computer room. The three coughed loudly since they had been trapped

under there for twenty minutes. After one final cough, Sally analyzes her surroundings and spot a motionless body not too far away... It was blue... The princess felt

her stomach twist and she runs towards the object. Tails and Amy followed behind her, looking just as scared. Once the trio gets close to the object, they all gasp. It

was indeed Sonic lying there. All three of them stood in shock until-

"Sonic?!" Sally yelled.

The chipmunk runs to his side and holds him to her tightly. She breaks down in tears as she flashes back to when she lost Sonic to the Xorda once again. That

unbearable pain had returned to haunt her.

"We tried to get to you as soon as we could, but there was so much debris in the way. I'm **_so_** sorry we couldn't help you."

Amy and Tails lean down beside Sonic as well with their own tears.

Unknowingly to them, the hedgehog was alive and the tears from Sally made him groggily opens his eyes,

"S...Sally?"

Sally smiles sadly and let out another sob,

"Oh, thank the walkers you're okay! I thought you were gone!"

Sonic smiles back and slowly lifts his arm to rub her head,

"Sal, babe, I'm alright. Don't forget...I heal faster than most Mobians."

The princess helps him get to his feet with Tails and Amy immediately hugging him afterwards. Both of them had smiles of relief too.

"We're so glad you survived, Sonic." Amy said.

Sonic hugs them back,

"And I'm glad that you two weren't hurt."

Tails angrily stares at the ground,

"Sonic... Eggman's destroyed everything and everyone... He's won…"

The Blue Blur's smile turned into a determined grin,

"He's won for now, T2. That bozo told me that he teleported everyone to his Egg Vineyard, which means I still have a chance to turn this around."

 **After a quick five minutes of rest, the gang decides to head back to what remained of Freedom HQ.**

Amy had a worried look,

"So what do we do now, Sonic?"

Sonic enters the computer room as he answers Amy's question,

" ** _You_** guys aren't doing anything. I'm gonna grab what I can from here and save our friends and families."

Sally glares at Sonic,

"What?! You can't take on Robotnik all by yourself! Let's at least come up with a plan first!"

"I already have a plan, Sal. You guys stay here where you're safe while I grab some supplies and get everybody back." Sonic replied while rummaging around in the

lab.

Sally puts hands on her hips and states in a challenging tone,

"Excuse me?"

Sonic glared back at her,

"You heard me, Sal."

"Sonic, don't be stupid! That's not a sound plan!" Sally raised her voice.

The Blue Blur was already stressed out and Sally's scolding wasn't helping.

So he snaps,

"Sally, I've got this covered! I'll save everyone and bring them back!"

Sally's face became even more livid,

"The last time you said that, I found you unconscious and barely able to move! I thought I lost you, **AGAIN**! If you go fight Robotnik alone, you'll have to deal with the

Egg Fleet, his badnik army, and his battle suit! It's suicide, Sonic! And I'm not going to let you throw your life away!"

The argument shocks Amy and Tails into silence as Sonic and Sally continue glaring at each other.

Before the argument can continue, Nicole cuts in,

"I apologize for intruding, but I suggest we defer from antagonizing each other until after the rescue mission. I have a plan, if you all are interested."

Sonic and Sally calm down only a little. The princess takes Nicole out of the holster on her boot and everybody focuses their attention on her.

"What do you have in mind, Nicole?"

"I will explain soon. But, first. Tails? Can you construct something that can get us to the Egg Vineyard quickly?" the holo-lynx asked.

"Of course I can! All I need is a few minutes. There are plenty of parts to use here, too." Tails answered.

After gathering parts from all the debris, Tails uses them to repair a damaged saucer that they all discovered. It had been confiscated during one of the Chaotix's many

New Megaopolis missions.

With help of the others, he finishes repairing it in under three minutes. Then the four get inside and head towards New Megaopolis.

"So, Nicole. Tell us about that plan you mentioned earlier." Sonic requested.

"Allow me to explain. As you all know, I'm capable of hacking into any device or network on the planet. The one exception to this however, is Dr. Robotnik's computer

tower. A.D.A.M was an exceptionally strong virus and his malware completely nullified any of my hacking attempts. Now that he's been... disposed of,

Robotnik's security should be trivial to penetrate. So if one of you plugs me into his tower, I can tamper with his teleportation beams and change the location

coordinates. In simpler terms, I can change where the beams send everyone." Nicole clarified.

Sally had a puzzled expression,

"Where would you send us though, Nicole? Knothole has been burnt to ashes."

"I will not disclose of the location yet. It's a surprise. I do promise you that it's safe." Nicole answered.

"Okay, Nicole. We trust you." Sally replied.

She then turns to the other three,

"Alright, Freedom Fighters. Here's what we do…Sonic and Amy, you two will be our front lines. I need you both to infiltrate the Egg Vineyard and free everyone from the

egg grapes. This should distract Eggman long enough for me and Tails to sneak into his headquarters and the computer lab. Does everyone understand?"

Sonic, Tails, and Amy nod in response.

 **Inside of the Egg Vineyard…**

Robotnik has just finished freshening up and headed to the deck where the egg grape controls are. Snively joins him, smiling maliciously as the two tyrants look at

all the Mobians they imprisoned with pride.

"Greetings, vermin! I want to thank you all for entertaining me for so long! Your resistance has been very amusing! However, I'm afraid all good things must come to an

end!" Eggman taunted.

While he is taunting his captives, Sonic and the gang are getting closer and closer to the vineyard.

"You Freedom Fighters thought you actually stood a chance against my empire? Ha! I was only playing a game with you! You were by far the most fun group to toy

with, as well as the most annoying. But in every game, there are winners and there are losers. And as you all know, in this game, losers… **get turned into fuel for my**

 **city!** "

 **Back outside…**

Sonic and the others continue to push forward. They drive past all the badniks with Amy smashing the ones directly in their path.

"Here we go, everyone! The vineyard is dead ahead! Remember to stick to the plan!" Sally commanded.

Sonic takes control of the saucer, while Tails flies off with Sally.

"Sally, Robotnik's tower should be on the top level of his main base. Get me there as quickly as possible." Nicole announced.

"Tails, Robotnik's headquarters is to the right of the Egg Vineyard. I see an opening near the top." Sally stated, pointing to the ventilation grate that Espio used.

"Right!" Tails yelled.

 **Inside the vineyard…**

"Now that I'm done with my monologue, it's time I display to you all what these egg grapes can do. That way you're shaking in fear before I end all of your pathetic

lives." Eggman said.

Snively grabs Charmy's egg grape with a robotic claw.

"No! Not Charmy!" Saffron yelled.

"D-Don't worry, Saffron... everything... everything will be alright." Charmy lied.

Charmy's egg grape is then moved in front of Robotnik.

The doctor grins,

"Charmy Bee, it's been too long! If memory serves me right, the last time we met I destroyed your kingdom and killed everybody you cared about! Do you have any

last words for me?"

Before Charmy could even answer, Sonic and Amy bust through the Egg Vineyard's wall with their saucer.

"Hold on tight, Amy!" Sonic warned her.

He jumps off the saucer, with Amy in his arms and runs up the wall incredibly fast until he reaches Eggman.

Once he lands on the deck, he puts Amy down.

"Sup, doc? Miss me?" he jested.

"How?! How did you recover so fast?! I left you near death after our battle! " the tyrant ranted.

"They call me Sonic for a reason, tubby. Everything about me is fast, including my ability to heal." Sonic answered.

Eggman growls, knowing he was powerless without his battle suit. So he retreats with Snively instead of challenging the hedgehog.

"Snively! You told me that you blasted all of them! You missed one!" he blurted, not realizing that Snively missed Tails and Sally too.

"One out of how many hundred?!" Snively asked.

"Just shut up, Snively!"

 **In Robotnik's main base…**

Sally and Tails have found their way to the computer lab after a bit of searching.

"Sally, the tower is over there behind that glass." Nicole informed.

Sally kicks the glass near Eggman's monitor and plugs Nicole into one of the ports.

"How long is this going to take?" Tails asked.

"About thirty seconds, Tails. As I stated earlier, his systems are wide open without A.D.A.M." Nicole reminded him.

"Good to know, Nicole. Once we're finished here we'll regroup with Sonic and Amy." Sally replied.

After tons of smashing from Amy, everyone was freed from the egg grapes.

Sonic waits for everyone to settle down before pointing to the hole he made with the saucer,

"This way everybody! Right back the way we came in! Make sure you all stick together!"

He then smiles at Amy,

"That was some nice smashing, Amy. Now let's get outta here before Robuttnik comes back."

Amy smiles cheekily and rests her hammer on her shoulder.

Shortly, Sally and Tails fly down next to Sonic and Amy while he and the others are running.

Everyone stops,

"Sonic, Nicole just finished tampering with the beams. We're ready for part two of the plan now." Tails said.

Sonic grins and gives them both a thumbs up,

"Alright! Way to go, you guys!"

Amy jumped with joy,

"We knew you could do it!"

They group of Mobians all start running again. When Sonic and Sally lock eyes for a split second, they quickly brake off the gaze. They both felt guilty, causing both of

their eyes to sadly fall to the ground.

"Sal, about earlier…" Sonic started.

"We can talk about it later, Sonic… let's just focus on the plan for now…" Sally said.

Everyone eventually comes to a dead end,

"Looks like part two of the plan is about to begin." Sonic announced.

Eggman flies towards them in his newly repaired Egg-Beater suit and yells out,

"You're not going anywhere, Sonic! Everyone is going back in the reserve egg grapes!"

The mad doctor starts to blast all of the Mobians again, this time using a larger spread on his teleporting beam.

"Robotnik, sir-" Snively communicated through a headset, but was cut off.

"Shut up, Snively! I'm busy here!" Eggman scolded. He has blasted almost every Mobian, leaving the original Freedom Fighters for last.

"Sir, listen to me! The beam is—" Snively tried to warn Robotnik about something, but was cut off yet again.

"Obviously working! Now shut your trap and let me savor this moment!" he commanded.

The Egg Beater towers over the cornered Freedom Fighters,

"Ah, the original Freedom Fighters. Defeating you all twice in the same day is so cathartic. Won't you put up a futile fight for old time's sake? " Eggman pleaded in a

mocking tone.

Sonic chuckles,

"No thanks, Robuttnik. I think we'll all chill here." he replied with a wink, trying to irritate the doctor.

"Rrrrrr, you're all no fun!" Eggman yelled as he blasted all the remaining Freedom Fighters.

Both of the Egg-Beater's arms rise up triumphantly,

" **YES!** I've finally done it! The hedgehog is no more! Snively, don't start the egg grapes without me!"

"I've been trying to warn you this entire time, sir! _**No one**_ is in the reserve egg grapes, which means the teleportation coordinates have been tampered with!"

Snively scolded.

Eggman's felt his blood pressure rise through the roof of his cockpit,

"Raaargh! Track down that frequency so I can blow them off the map with my Egg Fleet!"

"I've got their location! They're at the… the nanite city?!" Snively reported

 **At said nanite city…**

"I can't believe it, Uncle Merlin! Nicole managed to rebuild the Lake of Rings!" Tails cheered.

"Will it still produce magic rings, though?" Merlin asked.

Bunnie and Antoine look around and see that their houses have returned.

"Oh mah stars! It's a miracle, Antoine. All our homes have been rebuilt!" Bunnie said while him.

Antoine had a sappy smile,

"C'est magnifique!"

Elias and his father's mouth were slightly agape from what was in front of them,

"Look, father! The castle has been restored!" the king exclaimed.

The former king was in tears,

"This is truly remarkable! Castle Acorn looks like it did before that tyrant took over Mobotropolis!"

"It's modeled that way on purpose, your highness. I'm very glad that you like it." said a female voice.

"No way!" Sonic shouted as he and all the Freedom Fighters witness Nicole walking in front of them like a real Mobian Lynx.

"This is a project I've been working on ever since A.D.A.M. was destroyed. I've turned his nanite city into a recreation of Mobotropolis from the days of old. Everyone…

welcome to New Mobotropolis! I will be your hostess… Nicole."

"Nicole?! Oh my gosh, you look great! How are you able to support a physical form?" Sally asked, quickly hugging the lynx.

"Holographic matrixes, Sally. I used nanites to build them all over the city." Nicole answered, hugging back.

Everyone then realizes that Mogul, Naugus, Bean, Bark, and Nack were among the many that were rescued from Robotnik's egg grapes. At the moment, Mogul is

leading them with a plan to take over the city. Little did he know that Nicole had a surprise for them.

The mammoth was grinning maliciously,

"We are very gracious that you came to our aid, Freedom Fighters. We shall repay you by seizing control of your new city!"

"We will have to decline your offer, Mogul. Instead I built something special for all of _**you**_." Nicole replied sarcastically.

She teleports all five of them to the New Mobotropolis Prison House. Each of them put in their own prison cell.

"Now that's what I call a comeback, Nicole!" Sonic complimented, giving her a high five.

"Nicole? My uncle wants to know if the Lake of Rings still produces power rings like in Knothole?" Tails asked.

"Oui, and I am wanting to know what our defenses are here?" Antoine asked.

"Is Chuck's Diner back?" a mobian turtle asked.

The questions kept piling on until Nicole interrupted,

"I'll answer all of your questions in time, I promise. But for now we must focus our attention on Dr. Robotnik. He has already found our location, and is planning to

complete what he originally intended to do."

 **Up in the sky...**

"Robotnik, sir. We're approaching the nanite city!" Snively reported.

"Oh- hoho! They thought they could escape from me, but I will have my ultimate victory! They will not rob me of it!"

Before the Egg Fleet could fire, Nicole looked back towards the citizens with a reassuring smile,

"Worry not, everyone. I will re-route all of the power to the city's shields."

The holo-lynx starts to disappear and Sally shouts,

"Thank you for everything you've done for us, Nicole."

Tails looks at his former "aunt" with concern,

"What do we do now, Sally?"

The chipmunk gave the young fox a tired smile,

"I know Nicole will keep us protected for some time. That being said, I think we can afford to relax for a bit. We're all still recovering from the invasion after all."

"My sister is right, people of Knothole. We should be thankful Nicole made this new city and that we have all of our loved ones back! Please, I implore you all to go with

them and explore your new homes!" King Elias advised.

All the citizens listen to his advice and cheer before leaving for their respective homes.

Shortly, Bunnie approaches Sally with her happiest expression,

"Howdy, Sally-girl. Do you an' Sugar-hog wanna relax with me an' Antoine for a lil?"

Sally smiles warmly at her best friend,

"Actually, Sonic and I are going to talk for a bit. But we'll definitely come join you after we're done."

"Oh, alright. Well, we'll be waitin' for y'all near the top of the Great Oak Tree." Bunnie told her, pointing to the big tree in the middle of the neighborhood.

Sonic and Sally walk with each other into the forest near the Lake of Rings. Both of them holding hands with guilty expressions on their faces.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Sally asked him.

He gave her a faint smile,

"I'm hanging in there, Sal. Only a few spots ache from Eggman's beat down."

After some more awkward silence, it was the hedgehog's turn to speak up,

"Listen, Sal... I'm... sorry for losing my cool back at the HQ. I wasn't able stop Eggman from destroying Knothole in time and getting beaten to a pulp really ticked me

off. I honestly wasn't thinking straight after that and wanted to take him on alone again. That and I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you, too."

Sally smiled sadly at his honesty,

"I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have lost my temper and called you stupid. It was childish of me. When I found you unconscious, it reminded me of when I lost you to the

Xorda again. That memory just won't leave my mind."

Sonic changes his expression to a more sympathetic one,

"I don't blame ya, Sal. I only had to deal with your death for a day during the Endgame incident. You on the other hand, had to wait a year."

Sally sighs,

"I know, but it's about time that I get over that old memory. I can't let it get to me anymore..."

The princess then gave the hedgehog a serious look,

"You almost leaving did make me want to remind you that we're all in this together, Blue. Sometimes a situation is too big, even for you. And you have to learn when to

accept help. I understand you wanting to protect us, but I'd much rather be in danger, fighting by your side, than sitting around doing nothing. I'm sure the others feel

the same way, too."

Sonic smiles proudly at Sally's fortitude and cups her cheek gently,

"You really are one of a kind, Sal. I don't know how you put up with me."

Sally smirks,

"I don't know how I do, either. I guess you're just that much of a lovable goofball." she teased, playfully poking his nose.

The hedgehog chuckled and then asked,

"So are we cool?"

"Way past, Blue." Sally jested.

They embrace each other tightly, closing their eyes with gentle smiles. Eventually, a soft gust of wind made them separate.

"Let's go unwind with Bunnie and Antoine. She told me they'd be waiting for us on the Great Oak Tree." Sally said.

They walk back towards the neighborhood, arms around each other.

 **Above New Mobotropolis…**

The Egg Fleet continued to barrage the city's defenses with lasers and missiles. The constant fire was doing diddly-squat to the shield however, making Robotnik

furious.

"Snively! What's taking so long?! Why hasn't the shield been destroyed?!" he asked.

"The city's barrier is incredibly resilient, sir. Nothing we have is able to penetrate it." Snively explained.

"Nonsense! The Egg Fleet will weaken it eventually and then I'll burn this city to the ground just like Knothole! They can't hide in there forever!"

 **Shortly, on the Great Oak Tree...**

Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine sit on a branch near the top of the tree, admiring the view of the city. All of them felt nostalgic, with the exception of Bunnie.

"Nicole has really outdone herself. This looks just like the Mobotropolis I grew up in when I was little." Sally said.

"You remember when we used play in these streets as kids?" Sonic asked, putting his hand on hers.

Sally smirks,

"I sure do. I also remember you always ditching me to go to that chili dog stand."

Sonic grinned innocently,

"Oh, yeah! Those were good times."

Sally rolls her eyes and leans on him with a soft smile.

Antoine was shaking a little, being frightened by the Egg Fleet firing at the shield,

"O-Oui, and I was being trained by mon pere, back when I was s-still ze coward."

"Don't put yerself down, Sugar-twan. You've always been courageous in mah eyes." Bunnie said, pulling him closer with her extended robotic arm.

Antoine gave her a knowing smile,

"Etes-vous sur?"

"Of course ah'm sure. Ah wouldna' married ya if ah didn't know that." Bunnie answered, hugging him tightly.

"Do you have any memories of Mobotropolis, Bunnie?" Sally asked.

"Nope. Ah was just a lil ol' farm girl before I met y'all. Ah wasn't around for the original Mobotropolis, so ah wouldn't know 'bout the city like you three do. Still, this

place sure is a beauty from up here." Bunnie told them.

The chipmunk looks up at the sky from Sonic's shoulder,

"It's crazy, you know? How far we've come since we started the Freedom Fighters. Back then, we were children fighting an adult's war. But no matter how hard it got,

we never gave up. And we always found a way to achieve improbable feats."

Sonic smirks,

"And we'll continue to do so, Sal. We're the Freedom Fighters! We can handle anything no matter how tough things get!"

Sally tries to sit back up but her hair gets caught on a twig from the branch, making her groan in annoyance.

"Ugh… I think it's about time I trim this hair."

Bunnie lit up after hearing this,

"Ah'd be happy to help ya out with that, Sally-girl. Ah always did wanna be yer royal hairdresser after all."

Sonic pouts,

"But I like playing with your long hair, Sal."

Sally blushes lightly and giggles,

"I have to cut it eventually, Blue. Besides, I think you'll like the look I choose."

The hedgehog, still pouting, crosses his arms and mumbled,

"Since when were you so girly?"

The princess smirked and playfully elbowed him before going with Bunnie to her hut.

 **Outside of Tails hut...**

Tails looks up at the Egg Fleet with a troubled expression,

"That armada is relentless right now. I hope it doesn't somehow break the shield, dad."

"I doubt it, my son. The shields seem to be performing extraordinarily. Regardless, we can use this entire chain of events to our advantage." Amadeus replied.

The young fox raised an eyebrow,

"What do you mean?"

"I feel that this type of incident is something that needed to happen so everyone can open their minds to change. Specifically, on the power the monarchy holds over

us." Amadeus explained.

"That sounds risky at a time like this, Amadeus. I would be cautious. The monarchy could possibly be harsh on any rebellions that take place." Merlin warned.

"Put aside your doubts, Merlin. Amadeus knows exactly what he's doing." Rosemary defended her husband.

"I appreciate it your faith, my beloved wife." Amadeus stated.

"I know you'll do the right thing, dad. I'm on your side too." Tails agreed.

Eggman flies down in his Egg-Beater and starts slamming the shield with his wrecking ball, causing Tails and his family to flinch.

"Geez, Eggman sure is mad. I wonder where Sonic is... I'm going to go find him. I'll see ya later, mom and dad." Tails said.

He runs off and waves to his parents.

"See you later, sweetie." his mother replied, waving back.

 **Back at Bunnie's hut, the rabbot is about to finish doing Sally's hair...**

"Almost done, Sally-girl. Yer hair is lookin' mighty pretty right now." Bunnie informed.

Sally smiles,

"Thanks again for doing this, Bunnie."

"No need to thank me. Ah still owe you for doin' mah hair before the weddin'." Bunnie replied, putting the finishing touches.

"All finished, princess! How does it look?" Bunnie asked.

Sally analyzes herself in the mirror and focuses on every detail,

"You did an excellent job, Bunnie! It looks just like the early days."

The rabbit blushes in response,

"Aww, thanks…yer too kind."

"Well, we should go get Sonic and the others. Robotnik still needs to be dealt with." Sally reminded her.

 **Outside of Bunnie's hut...**

'What's taking so long? They've been in there for ten minutes.' Sonic grumbled in his thoughts, tapping his foot impatiently. He was waiting outside until Sally's hair

was done. After what felt like eternity to the hedgehog, the door finally opens and Bunnie walks out with Sally.

Sonic looked shocked at first but then smireds at the princess afterwards,

"Heh, I guess I was wrong. I like this look better."

Sally returns the smirk,

"Glad we could see eye to eye, Blue."

Sonic walks up to her slowly and pulls her into a brief kiss before stepping away.

The Blue Blur then closes his eyes and gives her a goofy grin,

"I'm glad we could, too."

Sally timidly gazes into his eyes, blushing brightly. Bunnie laughed at her expression, prompting her to snap out of it.

"Ahem, anyways… Robotnik and his fleet are continuing to attack the city's shields." Sally reminded both of them.

Sonic sighs with a frown,

"And that fatso also fixed that battle armor of his. Apparently it was built to deal with me and me only. I was able to damage it heavily last time, but I ended

up hurting myself pretty badly, too. I hate to admit it, but I can't really do much to that thing."

"Wait, that gives me an idea." Sally announced.

"Lay it on us then." Sonic insisted.

"If that armor is specifically made to fight you, then it won't be as effective against any of the other Freedom Fighters, or the Chaotix for that matter. I say we gather

some members from both teams to overwhelm Robotnik. We'll have our strongest members weaken him, and then everyone else can finish the job." Sally

explained.

"I like that plan." Sonic agreed.

"Ah do, too." Bunnie said.

"Sonic!" Tails yelled out in the distance.

"Hey, lil bro! You came at the right time. We have a plan to deal with ol' egg-head. Think you can help us gather some of the other Freedom Fighters while we get

some Chaotix members?" Sonic asked.

"You can count on me, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, flying off quickly.

 **Back outside of New Mobotropolis…**

Eggman is still trying to break the shield with his Egg-Beater, but his efforts still prove to be useless.

"You cheaters! Stop hiding behind your stupid shield and face me! This city belongs to me! I destroyed Mobotropolis! I destroyed Knothole! And I'll destroy this

city too!" he yelled.

After ten more minutes of pounding he yells again,

"You will come out and fight me! That shield can't save you forever!"

Sonic finally walks outside of the city and looks up at the doctor,

"Yo, Eggman! Are you done throwing a hissy fit?"

"There you are, rodent! It's about time you stopped hiding in your little bubble!" Eggman exclaimed.

The hedgehog smirks,

"What can I say, blubber-butt? Guess I got bored of watching you pound the shield like a lil kid."

"Hahaha! You can slander me as much as you like rodent, but you know you can't defeat me. With this battle armor, you don't have a chance!" Eggman boasted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you made it to fight me specifically and blah, blah, blah. But, if you made it only to fight me, then that means you got nothing on these guys." Sonic

said as Sally and the others come out from the city.

"Heavy hitters, you attack first!" Sally ordered.

Knuckles and Vector destroy one of the Egg-Beater's arms, while Rotor and Mighty destroy the other one.

Then Bunnie stands in front of the mech and changes her arm into pulse cannon again,

"Ah've always wanted to use this on ya, Robotnik. Time for some payback!" she yelled out, firing her pulse cannon at the center of the Egg-Beater.

"Gyahhhh!" Eggman screamed out in pain.

The Egg-Beater's top section was completely obliterated, leaving Eggman exposed.

"The heavy hitters are done, Sally." Knuckles reported.

"Let's go second line! Time to finish this!" Sally commanded.

She runs towards the Beater with Julie-Su, Espio, and Amy following.

Julie-Su weakens one of the leg's joints with her blaster, allowing Sally to break it off with a powerful spin kick. Espio throws shurikens at the other leg's joint, enabling

Amy to destroy it with an uppercut hammer swing (Girl Swing). Finally, Sonic spin dashes through the cockpit, which causes Eggman to fall onto the grass.

The doctor groaned in pain as Sonic and Sally tower over him with serious looks,

"You may be super smart, doc. But you should've learned by now that no matter how bad things get for us, no matter how much you try to bring us down, we'll always

bounce back and defeat you. You told me that we're your entertainment until you get bored of us? Well this "entertainment" is here to stay no matter how you

feel." Sonic lectured.

"Raarrrgh! You horrid little hedgehog!" Eggman growled.

"Don't push your luck, Robotnik. Retreat back to New Megaopolis before things get even worse for you. As of now, you're trespassing." Sally warned him.

Eggman continued growling, enraged that he couldn't do anything. His Egg Fleet used up all of its ammunition on the shield and his Egg-Beater has been destroyed.

He remotely calls an Egg-Flapper to pick him up and flies off,

"Don't think you've won, you bothersome pests! I was holding back before and I'll be back to trample you like the insects you are!"

Finally, Eggman returns to New Megaopolis along with his Fleet.

Sonic grins at the sight of the tyrant leaving,

"Wooo! Sure glad that's over!"

Sally and Sonic turn back to see the rest of the team celebrating their victory.

Sally smiles proudly at them all,

"Excellent work, everyone! I think we deserve a little rest after that ordeal, wouldn't you all agree?"

Everyone cheers in agreement before going back to the city. Sonic and Sally stay for a bit longer however, looking out in the direction Eggman retreated to as the wind

blows cool air on them.

"That was a great plan, Sal. I'm stoked that everything worked out perfectly." Sonic complimented, fist bumping with her.

"Thanks. I liked your little speech to Robotnik." Sally giggled softly, putting her hands around his arm.

Sonic yawns,

"This has been a pretty nutty day overall. I'm totally wiped out."

Sally yawns as well,

"Couldn't agree more, Blue. I'm exhausted as well. We should probably get back to our homes. Our parents must be extremely worried about us."

Sonic's smile changes back to his usual smirk and he brings Sally closer,

"C'mon, I'll walk you back to the castle."

And with that, the sun begins to set as they make their way back to the city and towards the castle.

 **End**


	11. House of Cards

**House of Cards (Issue 178 and 179 Redone)**

 **New Mobotropolis, Evening...**

It's only been a couple hours since the defeat of Eggman and all of the citizens were enjoying the peace, having settled down in their new homes. However, the

same can't be said about Tails and his family. Amadeus and his wife, Rosemary, are about to have a small discussion regarding the kingdom. Unknowingly to them, Tails

can hear the conversation clearly from his room.

"I do believe that it's time for change, Rosemary. I grow weary of the Acorn Family and their failure to protect our people." Amadeus said.

"I agree, dear. I've been working on a speech to coerce the citizens of Knothole. Would you like to take a look?" Rosemary asked.

"I'd be honored." Amadeus replied, grabbing the notebook from his wife.

He examines the speech and then looks up to his wife with a smile,

"This is a superb speech, my love. This will definitely sway the people. We must act quickly though, while the invasion is still fresh on everyone's minds."

"Of course. But when do you think we **_should_** act?" the mother asked.

"Tomorrow morning is when we will strike. It's time the Acorn Kingdom hears about our burdens." Amadeus answered.

A nervous expression spread across Tails' face,

'This can't be good. What my dad is suggesting can start a civil war, and that's the last thing we need! Especially since we _**just**_ dealt with Eggman. Should I tell

someone about this... I mean, I really don't want to go against my own family…' he thought.

The young fox shook his head and decided to go to sleep. He was still fatigued from Eggman's invasion of Knothole and couldn't think straight. After a few minutes, he

slowly drifted off into uneasy slumber.

 **The next morning…**

Tails hears a bunch of yelling and screaming. He instantly opens his eyes and heads towards the living room. There, his mother is on the couch and Nicole is by the T.V.,

showing an unnerving broadcast to her. His father had been arrested for starting a riot. By using Rosemary's speech, the former commander

managed to get the loyalty of half the population.

He then led them all to the castle, yelling out,

"Castle Acorn is this way, my fellow revolutionaries! The king must hear our concerns! We will have our democracy!"

Nicole ends the broadcast and looks at Rosemary with remorse,

"This happened thirty minutes ago, outside of the civic center. Sonic was, unfortunately, ordered to detain him before things escalated and I wanted you to hear the

news from me first. I deeply apologize for this, Mrs. Prower."

Rosemary frowned at the ground,

"He didn't wake me up… we were supposed to do this together…"

The mother sighs shortly afterwards,

"Who am I kidding? I'm not surprised that he took the initiative…"

"Why though, mom? Why would he decide to do this now?" Tails questioned as he approached his mother.

The female fox's frown transformed into a bright smile at the sight of her son.

She embraces him,

"Good morning, Tails!"

Tails glares at her and states sternly,

"Answer my question, mom."

The mother gave her son a nervous look,

"Tails, me and your father thought the time was right. With Robotnik being temporarily defeated, we figured now would be the proper time for change." she explained,

rubbing the young fox's head.

Before Tails could give his insight, Sonic opens the front door, walking inside with his head down in shame.

"Sonic... has Amadeus been confined accordingly?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, he didn't put up a fight… he's in the Prison House right now..." Sonic replied.

The hedgehog glances at Tails, making him feel anxious.

Tails frowned at his best friend,

"You didn't hurt him, did you Sonic?"

Sonic put both hands in front of his face,

"No way, lil bro. Like I said, he didn't fight me at all. All he did was give himself up. He also told me that he takes full responsibility for everything, too."

The Blue Blur walks over to Tails, his face full of regret as leans down to the fox's height,

"I'm sorry this happened, bud… It doesn't feel good having to book your best friend's father."

Tails wasn't sure how to react. He was baffled. Confused.

He simply nodded and went back to his room silently. His mother followed him as well, wanting to comfort and explain everything to him.

Seeing Tails walk off made Sonic frown harshly, which Nicole quickly noticed.

The holo-lynx places a reassuring hand on his shoulder,

"Relax, Sonic. Tails just needs some time. I'm sure he'll understand why you what you did." Nicole suggested.

The hedgehog clenches his fists,

"Man, this blows. Why did his pops have to pull a stunt like this? You don't get what you want with an angry mob."

Nicole smiles softly,

"Don't let this trouble you. I'm sure that we'll find a way to resolve all of this."

Sonic calms down a little bit and sighs,

"I hope you're right, Nicole…"

The hedgehog makes his way towards the exit while saying,

"I'm gonna go see Knux before he leaves for Angel Island. I'll catch ya later."

 **At Uncle Chuck's Diner, Knuckles was in a small argument with his friends. He wants to travel to Angel Island alone, but the others were completely against the**

 **idea...**

"Knuckles, please. If I can't go with you, then at least take Mighty or Espio. It's too dangerous to go back by yourself." Julie-Su argued.

"Julie-Su is correct, Knuckles. It is not wise to go on an excursion to Angel Island alone." Espio advised.

"Look, the only reason why I've stayed with the Freedom Fighters for this long is because they needed extra help against Robotnik. Now that everyone's safe in New

Mobotropolis, I can afford some damage control on my island." Knuckles explained.

"It's not just **_your_** island, Knuckles. It's **_ours_** too. We should be fighting for it together!" Julie-Su pleaded.

"Sorry 'Su, but the answer is still no. The only backup I'll need is my father."

Sonic shortly arrives on the scene, skidding to a stop in front of his red rival,

"Phew! Looks like I barely made it, huh Knux?"

"What do you need, Sonic? I need to leave for Angel Island right now." Knuckles asked.

The hedgehog scratched his head,

"I forgot... how do you plan on doing that again?"

Knuckles opens his hand and reveals his guiding star gem,

"With this beauty right here, I'll be able to transport there using the chaos force as a guide."

"Oh, okay. I was about to suggest taking the chaos emerald, but that works too." Sonic replied.

Knuckles frowned,

"That isn't a good idea, anyways. I wouldn't want to risk the chance of it getting stolen. There are three conflicting factions on the island that would love to swipe it."

The hedgehog shrugged,

"Eh, I guess that makes sense. Well, good luck, Knuckle-head!"

Knuckles rolls his eyes, returning the smirk and bumping fists with him.

At that instant, Sonic took off yet again, his next stop being the Lake of Rings.

Knuckles turns back to his partner with a smile,

"When I get to Angel Island, I'll contact you and the others. If things get too crazy, I'll call you in. Understand?"

"No, I don't, but… okay." Julie-Su agreed reluctantly.

Knuckles waves the Chaotix farewell and disappears through a portal.

Vector nudges Julie-Su lightly and grins,

"Hey, cheer up Julie-Su. You know Knux; he's rougher than the rest of 'em. He can handle himself."

The pink echidna crosses her arms with a bitter scowl,

"He better."

 **In the New Mobotropolis Prison House, King Elias visits Amadeus...**

The villains in the other cells try to intimidate him, but Mogul silenced them with his telepathy.

"General Prower, do you mind telling me what your reasoning is for starting a riot?" Elias asked.

"It wasn't anything personal sire, I assure you. You seemed to be an open minded individual from what I've examined and I figured you'd listen to your subjects. It was

anything but a riot." Amadeus answered.

Elias crossed his arms,

"If it wasn't personal, then why did you have half the population demanding that I relinquish my crown?"

"For the sake of your people, you should. We need not worry about Dr. Robotnik now that everyone is safe here. We have… no, we **_must_** correct the dilemma that we

have within the city." Amadeus answered.

The former commander stands up and points at the king,

"Why would you try to preserve such a faulty monarchy? For three eras the House of Acorns ruled the kingdom and it has been nothing but catastrophes. They led us

into the Great War, ushered in the original Robotnik, and lost both Old Mobotropolis and Knothole! The only ones who've actually made a difference are the Freedom

Fighters! Mere children have done and **CONTINUE** to do more for Mobius than your erroneous sovereignty! Now your father is unfit to rule due to his previous

traumas, which leaves us with _**you**. _ And **_you_** do not have the experience to manage an entire nation."

Amadeus moves closer to Elias,

"When I was on the planet Argentium, I was shown how effective democracy is. How much better it is to have a kingdom run by the people. All I desire, is for everyone

in this city to be correctly guided and protected."

He then walks away and sits back on the bench,

"Does that clarify everything, sire?"

Elias stands silently in thought for a good ten seconds before finally stating,

"I do believe it does, General Prower."

The king exits the detention center, having nothing but doubt on his mind.

 **At the Lake of Rings, Sonic is walking around in fast circles, waiting for the next power ring to be generated...**

The hedgehog soon grew frustrated after another five minutes,

"What's taking so long? I've been waiting for ten minutes and the power ring still isn't here."

Nicole appears behind him,

"Having problems?"

Sonic turns around and smiles,

"Hey, just the A.I. I needed! Do you know why it's taking so long for a power ring to show up? It's been more then ten minutes and still zilch."

"It should be appearing any second now, actually. It normally takes twelve minutes for one to generate in this new city." the holo-lynx answered.

Suddenly, the lake starts to glow, and a power ring comes out in the middle.

"Finally! This is the last one I need for my gift." Sonic cheered as he reached out to grab the ring.

Nicole stares at Sonic curiously,

"Gift?"

"Yeah, I'm working on a present for Sal. It's a secret though, so don't tell her." Sonic requested.

"You have my word, Sonic." Nicole reassured.

This made the hedgehog grin,

"Thanks, Nicole. Now I gotta juice it on over to the Science Center. Ciao!" he said before taking off.

'Now to get these four power rings to Rotor. He'll know what to do after I explain everything.' he thought.

 **Meanwhile, a smiling Sally is walking by herself, admiring the beauty of the nanite city...**

'This city is amazing. I still can't believe how accurate the details of this place are. It feels like I'm a little kid, having fun in the streets again.' she thought.

The chipmunk felt extremely nostalgic and flashed back to her childhood. She remembered playing tag with Sonic and the others outside of the castle. Every time she

was 'it', Sonic would let her get close to him, then as soon as she was inches from touching him, he'd dash off.

The princess giggled,

'He was such a jerk. He knew I couldn't catch him... It was still fun, though.' she thought.

She continues walking around until something catches her eye in the distance. It's her brother, sitting on a bench with his head down. Feeling concerned, the princess

makes her way over to the bench and sits next to him.

"Got a lot on your mind, brother?" she asked.

Elias looks up at her and then back down,

"Yeah, I do sis. I'm very conflicted right now."

Sally gave him an encouraging smile,

"Tell me why. You know you can talk to me."

Elias lifts his head, eyeing the clouds above him,

"Sometimes, I wonder why I'm even here. Why am I the king in the first place? I was never trained nor do I have any experience directing a nation. I grew up on Angel

Island, Sally. I was an adventurer, not a prince. I don't think I'm fit for this type of role."

The princess puts her hand on his and sighs, looking at the sky too,

"You're not alone, Elias. Remember that I was in your position before (Issue 134). Watching over Knothole was definitely an arduous task, but it's one that I was

grateful to experience."

Her brother raised an eyebrow in confusion,

"You appreciated it? I thought you were relieved when I took the crown."

Sally smiled again,

"I was, but that's only because I got to experience it first hand. Having all of those responsibilities for an extended period of time opened my eyes. It made me

realize that ruling the kingdom wasn't my passion. That it wasn't the life I wanted. My passion was and **_always_** will be leading the Freedom Fighters and battling

alongside Sonic. It's my way of serving the kingdom. My way of making a difference."

Elias wanted to continue the conversion, but a familiar voice is heard from behind them.

"Ah, there you are my children."

They both look to the side and see their father rolling over to them in his wheel-chair.

"Hello, father..." Elias stated.

"Greetings, Elias. Did you speak to Commander Prower like I requested? What was his reason for starting a riot?" Max asked.

Sally raised an eyebrow,

"There was a riot? How come I'm just hearing about this?"

"You were still asleep when it happened, Sally. Amadeus led an angry mob to the castle late in the morning." Elias explained.

"So is that the **_real_** reason you're upset?" the princess asked.

Elias faced both Sally and his father with sad eyes,

"It's half the reason. The general told me that too many disastrous events have happened under the Acorn Kingdom's rule. He and half of our citizens have lost faith in

us after the destruction of Knothole. Amadeus said that I should step down from the throne and let the people form a government of their own."

His father became dead serious,

"We can't just give up the crown, my son. The Acorn Kingdom has ruled for hundreds of years and we must preserve our heritage at all costs."

Elias felt completely lost,

"What do I do then?! Half of the population is unhappy with our monarchy and they demand change!"

Sally took a few seconds to think of something before speaking up,

"I think I may have a solution."

"You do? Well, tell us what it is?" her father asked.

The chipmunk stood up with her own serious expression,

"I'll fill you in when we get back to the castle. I just realized that we shouldn't be discussing matters like this in public."

"Agreed, my daughter. Let us return to the castle immediately." Max replied.

As the sun is about to set, the three of them travel back to Castle Acorn.

 **In the New Mobotropolis Science Center...**

Sonic has just finished talking to Rotor about his present for Sally. He explained to the walrus what the power rings were for and instructed him on what to do with

them.

"How long will it take?" Sonic asked.

"Not too long. I think it should be finished by tomorrow morning." Rotor replied.

Sonic grins,

"Awesome! I'm sure Sal will love it."

There was a brief pause.

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Rotor asked.

The hedgehog's guilty expression reappeared,

"I'm gonna see how Tails is holding up. He seemed really mad when I told him I locked his pops up..."

They were both in awkward silence, prompting Sonic to say,

"Anyways, I'll see ya tomorrow morning, Rote. Thanks again for helping me out with this."

Rotor smiles,

"No problem."

The Blue Blur leaves the science center and jets towards Tails house.

'I hope my lil bro is hanging in there.' he thought.

Suddenly, the alarm from the detention center goes off, causing Sonic to screech to a halt.

'The heck? What's going on?' he thought.

A Nicole appears in front of him, looking timid,

"Sonic, there's been a breach at the detention center. I-" she started but stopped when Sonic ran off impulsively.

"Sonic, wait! I haven't told you who's responsible!" the A.I. yelled out.

Sonic stops outside of the prison house and hears some chatter.

"We must act quickly, Amadeus. The citizens in both neighborhoods are starting to argue a lot and we don't want to chance a civil war. We **_need_** to end this tonight."

Rosemary insisted.

"You're correct, Rosemary. We should head to the castle at once. There, we will confront King Elias and have him step down." Amadeus agreed.

The commander then remembered something,

"But how will we leave this place? By now they must have told Sonic to prevent our escape."

"I'll handle him, mom and dad. Just go and finish what you started." Tails stated.

Sonic decides that he's heard enough and walks down the two steps,

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Tails ambushes Sonic before he can elaborate, pinning him against the wall.

"Get to the castle! I'll keep him busy!" the young fox ordered.

His parents listen to the command and reluctantly leave.

"Tails, what's your problem?!" Sonic scolded.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. But my parents are trying to help the city and I need to support them!" Tails argued.

He uses his two tails to smack his friend across the room,

"Agh!"

The hedgehog starts to get irritated and grapples with his 'lil bro',

"Tails, outta my way! I have to stop your parents from making things worse!"

"I can't and I won't!" Tails replied.

Sonic does a break dance kick (Sonic Flare) to try and the fox, but he barely misses. Tails once again strikes Sonic with his tails while he is vulnerable; this time, in the

back.

The hedgehog gets close to losing his temper and growls,

"You're making it real hard for me to hold back, bud. I know you wanna help your family, but this isn't the right way to go about it!"

He recovered from the attack and dashed outside after finding an opening in Tails' stance.

Tails gives chase and tackls him,

"My mother convinced me that things need to change! Ever since the Acorns have ruled, it's been nothing but disasters! Now is the time to do it!"

"I get that, Tails! But you don't get change with an angry mob! You can't just kick Elias off the throne! Stop and think about what you're doing here, lil bro. Do you

really wanna fight me after all I've done to help you?" Sonic asked.

The question caused the rebellious fox freeze up as remembers all the times Sonic has been there for him. He remembers that Sonic and Sally were basically the ones

that raised him. He felt his stomach twist in pain after realizing this. How could he treat Sonic like this?

Tails gets off of his best friend slowly and turns away from him,

"No… I don't…"

 **At this moment, Amadeus and Rosemary get to Castle Acorn, ready to confront the king. They try to enter from the side of the castle.**

Rosemary peaked over her shoulder, still worrying about her son,

"Amadeus, was it really wise to leave our little Tails alone with Sonic?"

"Tails has been a Freedom Fighter for most of his life and he's fought some of the world's worst villains. I know he'll be alright. I believe in him." Amadeus reassured.

The former commander tries to open the side door with a code, but finds that it is already unlocked.

Rosemary immediately became skeptical,

"That's odd… the door is already open? Do you think Nicole told them to retreat? Or could this be a trap?"

Amadeus shakes his head,

"I don't think so. I've been observing Elias and his behavior for some time. If what I've come to know of him is correct, then I believe this is an invitation."

They enter cautiously and make their way to the throne room. Inside, they find Sally, Elias, and Nicole sitting at a table with tea cups on top of it.

"What is this?" Amadeus questioned.

"Nicole told us about your escape ahead of time. We figured you guys would probably come here, so we decided to let you in. We know that you actually don't want to

start a civil war." Elias explained.

"You are indeed correct. However that doesn't change the fact that you should step down from the throne. It should be the people who run things here, not one

absolute power." Amadeus protested.

Sally smiles,

"Wait just a second, commander. It took a while to convince our father, but I believe we found a compromise that will make everyone happy."

Amadeus looked at the princess curiously while rubbing his chin,

"You have my interest..."

"Good, then have a seat and we'll tell you everything." Sally advised, pointing to the chair.

 **Back outside of the detention center…**

Tails had still been facing away from Sonic and began tearing up a little, completely ashamed of himself,

"I'm… s-sorry, Sonic. I'm just so confused about who I should side with. I know the way my father handled things wasn't right, but I didn't have the courage to tell

him the truth. I felt pressured to support my family because we just got back together. We were separated for such a long time and I... I didn't want to argue with

them…"

Sonic's anger disappears instantly and he walks over to his 'brother'.

The sympathetic hedgehog turns the young fox around and wipes away his tears,

"Hey, don't cry, T2. I get it. You didn't wanna upset your folks right after reuniting with them. But you still gotta speak up. You can't be afraid to tell them how you really

feel. For all you know, they would've listened and things could've turned out differently. Remember that next time."

"I will. I promise I won't make the same mistake." Tails replied.

Sonic smiles,

"I know you won't. You're the smartest kid I know, and you've gotten pretty good at fighting too."

The compliment made Tails smirk,

"Thanks. Before Knuckles left, he taught me a few techniques."

"Heh, I can tell. So are we cool?" Sonic asked.

Tails hugs Sonic,

"Of course we are, big brother."

"Good, 'cause we have to get the castle quickly and make sure everyone's alright."

The fox nods and they both blast off towards the castle, not stopping until they get to the entrance. Sonic and Tails carefully walk into the throne room and were

shocked to see everyone sitting down, enjoying tea.

As soon as the Blue Blur spots Sally, he raises an eyebrow and smirks,

"I'm guessing you handled things, right Sal? You are a pretty good mediator after all."

Sally smiles back,

"You know me too well, Blue. We've come to an agreement."

Both Elias and Amadeus were smiling,

"We decided to form a Democratic Republic." Elias stated.

"Indeed. We will have an elected council of six citizens, with the king being the seventh member." Amadeus explained.

"I lose some power to the people, but we don't lose the monarchy of our heritage." Elias concluded as he taps tea cups with Amadeus.

 **The next morning, everyone was getting in line for the election. As this is happening, Elias and his parents watch the event from the balcony in the castle...**

"Thank you for supporting this, father. The citizens of New Mobotropolis are happy with this small concession." Elias said.

Maximilian smiles softly at his boy,

"It will take a while for me to get used to this change, but I understand the decision. Regardless of how I feel, I am no longer the king, my son. You are. It is your

word that counts, not mine. And if you feel that this is correct decision to make, then so be it."

"I'm proud of you, Elias. You managed to handle things peacefully rather than resort to violence." Alicia told her son.

"It wasn't just me, mom. It was Sally who helped out the most. This compromise was her idea and I'm really lucky to have her as my sister." Elias said.

 **Near the election line, Sonic and Sally are seen lying against a tree together. They both watch as more people join the line to vote.**

"I'm surprised that Mr. Prower didn't try and run for the council." Sonic said.

"I asked him if he would but he told me that he would rather command the military. Rosemary is running for office, though. Which makes sense given her past with

politics." Sally explained, moving closer to Sonic.

"So how come you aren't running to be a part of the council? You're not wearing the crown anytime soon." Sonic asked, moving closer to Sally.

The princess sneered,

"I may have diplomatic experience, but that doesn't mean I like politics. I only get involved when situations like this happen."

Sonic reacted to her sentence with his typical smirk,

"Guess that makes two of us... When it comes to not liking politics, I mean."

The Blue Blur's ears flick upwards as he remembers something,

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot!"

He grabs a present from behind the tree,

"I got something for ya."

Sally raises an eyebrow,

"A gift?"

"Mmm-hmm, check it out." Sonic handed her the present.

Sally opens the box slowly and gasps with glee. There were two golden ring bracelets inside.

"Wow, these are beautiful Sonic!" she complimented and placed them on her wrists.

Sonic's smirk turned into a grin,

"There's more to those bracelets than just looks. You see those tiny buttons on the side? Press 'em!"

She does exactly that, causing a yellow ring blade to materializes from her left bracelet.

"Oooo, I like." she said soothingly.

"Heh, I figured you would. Those bad boys can slice through metal and it'll give you that extra edge on the battlefield. Punches and kicks can only get you so far."

Sally gave the hedgehog a puzzled look,

"Why give me a gift now, though? Not that I don't appreciate it, but this kind of came out of nowhere."

"I've been trying to make those bracelets for a while, but I needed four power rings to do so. It didn't help that Knothole got destroyed, which made me have to

gather another four. Rotor handled the rest after I explained everything." Sonic clarified.

Sally let Sonic's words sink in before smiling lovingly at him,

"You're sweet, you know that?"

"Who, me? Nah!" the hedgehog jested.

Sally rolls her eyes,

"Oh, shut up." she said before gently kissing him.

Their moment was interrupted by a voice that came from beside them,

"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Knuckles?"

Sonic turns his head and jumps up in surprise. He found himself staring at some metal echidna head in a bubble.

"Who or what are you?!"

"My name is Dimitri. Please, can you tell me where my grand-nephew is. **Enerjak has returned!** "

 **End**


	12. A Mammoth's Revenge

So I'm skipping 180-186 because they fit into my timeline perfectly. No changes need to made to those issues. So Knuckles still turned into Enerjak and lost his father,

and the echidna's to the Dark Egg Legion. I'd also like to thank fellow writer, SonicWindAttack for helping me with a very important part of this story. I recommend

checking him out. He and a bunch of others are working on an awesome continuation of Archie Sonic's original continuity. Check him out on his deviantart page. The

name of the project he's working on is Archie Sonic Online.

Now that that's out of the way, let's continue with the series.

 **A Mammoth's "Revenge" (Issue 187 and 188 Redone)**

 **It's a little past midnight at Freedom HQ...**

Sonic had just finished quickly fixing the wall and the door that Mighty damaged an hour ago. Afterwards, he went inside and tried to fall asleep. For thirty minutes, he

laid in complete and utter silence, making him feel antsy. Eventually, he sat up and started thinking about what happened an hour ago.

Mammoth Mogul had temporarily taken over the minds of Mina, Mighty, and Tails due to marking them with his psychic powers. After giving Mogul Castle Acorn's chaos

emerald, the Mammoth freed himself, the other prisoners, and released the control he had over his friends.

The hedgehog grew an annoyed scowl as he remembered what he said after Mogul threatened him with the "Fearsome Foursome",

 _"Ooooh! I hope I can sleep tonight! Ha!"_

'Ugh...I shouldn't have freaking said that. 'Cause now I really **_can't_** snooze.'

He continued thinking until he recalled one of the last things Mogul told him,

 _"The advantage I have is time. As an immortal, I can wait you out. I may not defeat you, but you will never know peace. Nor will your children... or their children."_

Sonic scoffed at the thought of his statement,

'Tch, yeah right. There's no way Dumbo will just sit around until I eventually die. He's got something planned, I know he does.'

Four more minutes of dead air passed, and a small smile appeared on the Blue Blur's face.

'You know what? It doesn't matter if he has something planned, 'cause I've got the Freedom Fighters by my side. Whatever he tries to do, I'll be ready for it.'

Keeping this in mind, he lied back down and slowly fell asleep, keeping his soft smile.

 **The next morning, 10:30 A.M...**

There was a knock on Sonic's door, accompanied by a female voice.

"Sonic, are you awake?" the voice asked.

Sonic was still in deep sleep, so he didn't respond at all.

A couple of minutes pass and door opens slowly, revealing that it was Sally.

She walks up to his bed and stares at her goofball with an amused smile,

'Wow, he's out cold. He really must've worn himself out last night.'

She gently nudges him a few times and says in a soft voice,

"Sonic, it's time to wake up."

"I have no master, except the wind that blows free…" the hedgehog muttered randomly in his sleep.

The princess raised an eyebrow, not understanding the meaning of the random phrase. So instead of waiting, she pokes Sonic's chest, making him jump. He was

ticklish in that spot.

"Yah! I told you not to poke me there!" he yelped.

Sonic swiftly sat up and saw that it was Sally.

She smirks and teases him,

"Good morning to you, too."

Sonic's frown turns into a sheepish smile,

"Oh, umm... hey, Sal… What are you doing here so early?"

The chipmunk placed hands on both of her hips,

"Early? It's late in the morning, Blue. I'm here because of what happened last night."

Sonic gets off of his bed and gives her a confused look,

"Wait, you know? How?" he asked while scratching his head.

"Nicole told me everything when I woke up earlier. I went with Amy to check up on Tails and we found him with his uncle. Merlin told me he wants to perform some

cleansing ritual on you and the others." Sally clarified.

Sonic yawns loudly,

"A ritual, huh? Sounds lame."

Sally rolls her eyes and states,

"Merlin said it was urgent, Sonic. The reason he wants you is because of the hex that was placed on the Master Emerald. He wants to be sure that there aren't

anymore negative effects from it."

The Blue Blur sighs and then smiles at his concerned partner,

"Fine, fine, I'll go."

Sally smiles,

"Excellent. Shall we depart to Merlins' house then?" she asked, extending her hand to Sonic.

Sonic closes his eyes halfway and smirks,

"Why of course, my lady." he answered playfully.

The hedgehog grabs princess's hand and walks outside. He then picks her up bridal style and speeds off to New Mobotropolis.

In about fifteen seconds, they arrive at Merlin's hut. There, the elderly fox is seen waiting along with Tails, Amy, Mighty, Mina, and Knuckles.

"It's about time you showed up, Sonic." Merlin said.

"Yeah… sorry about that. I kinda overslept." Sonic responded, averting his eyes to the side and rubbing the back of his quills.

"It's alright. I know what happened last night probably made you feel uneasy. With that said, let's not waste anymore time and begin the ritual." Merlin instructed.

He then turns to Sally with a smile,

"This shouldn't take too long, princess. I estimate around ten minutes."

"Understood, Merlin. Thank you." Sally replied.

The princess smiles at Amy, who had tagged along with Tails,

"Let's go for a walk, Amy. By the time we get back they should be done."

It took a bit for the rosy hedgehog to respond.

"Okay, Sally." she agreed, trying to hide her nervous smile.

They decide to walk around the neighborhood, specifically near Julayla's Memorial Park due to the wonderful weather. After a couple minutes of silence, Sally looks at

Amy and notices that something is... off about her.

"So how have you been, Amy? It's been a while since we last spoke with each other privately." she asked.

Amy's eyes drifted towards Sally's as she once again poorly suppresses her nervous smile.

"Oh, me? I'm fine."

Sally gives Amy a puzzled look and raises an eyebrow,

"Are you sure? You seem very anxious right now."

This is when Amy zones out and starts to think about Sonic. Ever since he's been with Sally, she's been forced to bottle up her feelings for him out of respect. The rosy

hedgehog has done a great job of hiding it for a long time, but being alone with Sally is reminding her that Sonic is taken. This caused her feelings of jealousy to

slowly reappear and it bothered her. She never felt comfortable talking about the topic. Even her best friend, Tails, barely got any information out of her on the

subject.

The princess began to look concerned,

"Amy?"

Amy snaps out of it,

"I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind…"

A warm smile spread across Sally's face,

"What's making you feel so distressed?"

"I… don't feel comfortable talking about it, Sally. Umm… I-I have to go." Amy replied.

She ran off quickly, holding in the tears that threatened to stream down her face.

Sally stood still in shock, while staring in Amy's direction.

She became even more confused,

'Did I do something wrong?'

 **Back at Merlin's house, Merlin's ritual is about to finish...**

He says the final phrase to end the cleansing,

"Monstaris Exsecratibus Me!"

The room engulfs them all in a blinding green light and then the glow slowly dissipates.

"It is done." Merlin announced.

He points at Mighty, Mina, and Tails,

"Mogul can no longer control your minds."

He then turns to Knuckles and Sonic,

"And any lingering effects from Finitevus' hex should be gone. So the both of you should be safe."

Knuckles walks up to Merlin and shakes his hand,

"I appreciate the help, Merlin. I'm glad I don't have to worry about it anymore."

Mighty bows to Merlin respectfully,

"Mina and I thank you as well."

Merlin bows back,

"You're very welcome."

Knuckles, Mighty, and Mina leave with Sonic waving at them before approaching Merlin.

The hedgehog raised an eyebrow,

"Yo, Merlin. I didn't get to ask earlier but… why did you need **_me_** here for this? I wasn't cursed like the other four. So what gives?"

"Did Sally not tell you? The hex placed on the Master Emerald was an incredibly powerful one. You shouldn't have been able to draw power from it. I wanted to be

safe and make sure there weren't any additional side effects." Merlin answered as he packed his bag.

"I get that part. What I don't get, is how I was able to go super in the Master Emerald was cursed. I'm only able to power up with positive chaos energy and the curse

gave off negative energy." Sonic replied.

Merlin takes a moment to think of a reply,

"I don't have an exact answer myself, Sonic. But I do have a theory… Since you've absorbed plenty of chaos energy through your life, I believe you have a

strong connection to the chaos force. This, combined with your positive aura, could have negated the effects of the hex."

Sonic shrugs,

"I guess I'll just go with that then. All of this chaos talk is confusing, anyways."

"And that is precisely why I must depart from New Mobotropolis. I'm going to look for the real answers alone." Merlin replied.

Tails grew a timid expression while rubbing his index fingers together,

"Why can't you stay here, Uncle Merlin? I'm sure Nicole can help you find the answers you need."

The elderly fox smiles and kneels to Tails' height, placing a hand on his shoulder,

"I'm sure she could, my nephew. But this is something I must do alone."

Tails sad eyes moved up to his uncle's,

"Okay, Uncle Merlin. I understand, b-but…I'll miss you."

Merlin hugs him,

"I will too, Tails. Send your parents my regards."

He then heads towards the city's exit, waving good-bye to the two heroes.

Sonic moves closer to Tails with a sympathetic smile,

"Don't worry, lil bro. I'm sure he'll be back one day."

Sally promptly shows up, still looking confused.

"Sup, Sal. We just got finished with the ritual thingy. Everyone's clean now." Sonic reported, giving a thumbs up.

Sally sighs, smiling softly afterwards,

"That's good to hear."

Tails notices that Amy isn't with the princess,

"Hey, where did Amy go?"

Sally worried expression reappeared,

"Amy ran off while we were walking together. She seemed really distraught about something. Do you know what's wrong with her? I'm not as close to her as you

are."

Tails knows what's up with Amy. He wasn't able to get too much information out of her, but he's aware of Amy's lingering feelings for Sonic.

The fox tenses up a little and starts to speak up,

"I can't tell you too much... all I can say is that it involves Sonic."

The princess immediately knew what Tails was talking about.

Hearing this confused the hedgehog instead,

"Me? What did I do?" he asked, pointing at himself.

"You didn't do anything, Blue. I know what the problem is, so I'll go speak to her. In the meantime, I need you to rally up the Freedom Fighters and meet me at the

Great Forest in fifteen minutes." Sally ordered.

Tails nervously asks the chipmunk,

"Are you sure I shouldn't talk to her, Sally?"

Sally smiles gently at the young fox and places a hand on his head,

"I'm absolutely sure, Tails. No need to worry."

"Alright, Sal. We'll see ya in fifteen." Sonic said with a wink.

 **At Amy's hut…**

The rosy hedgehog was staring at the ground from the edge of her roof. She sat in silence, deep in thought.

'I shouldn't have ran away from Sally like that. She was only worried about me… but I can't tell her about my jealousy… I know it'll ruin my friendship with her…'

she thought.

Sally spots Amy on the roof and quietly climbs up.

"Hey." she greeted Amy in a soft tone, sitting next to her.

Amy turns her head in surprise,

"Sally?!"

"Relax, Amy. I'm only here to speak with you." Sally counselled.

Amy, feeling insecure, curls up and puts her arms around her knees. She looks down again in silence, prompting Sally to place a hand on her shoulder.

"You can tell me what's bothering you, Amy. Don't be afraid to talk to me."

Amy looks up at Sally and sees the genuine concern in her eyes.

'I can't lie to her… but… I'm so scared to tell her how I feel.' she thought.

"If I tell you, can you promise not to get angry?" Amy asked.

Sally took a second to think to herself. She knew exactly where this conversation was going, but was willing to hear Amy out despite that.

"You have my word." the chipmunk agreed.

Amy starts to tear up a little,

"The truth is… I'm jealous of you, Sally. I don't want to be, but I am. I'm jealous that you were able to catch Sonic's attention while I was chasing after his love for so

long. He was the reason I wanted to be a Freedom Fighter after I lost my p-parents. When you told me I was too young to join, I used the Ring of Acorns to make

myself older, hoping that I could get closer to him… but it didn't work. I did everything I could to get his attention, but he never looked at me in a romantic way. It

wasn't until you two officially became a couple that I finally gave up."

Amy gets choked up before continuing to speak,

"I k-know you're happy together and I've been trying to let him go… but he just won't leave my mind." she finished, sobbing softly.

While she sobs, Sally is processing what she was just told. She knew about Amy's feelings for Sonic in the past, but since Amy was so young, she didn't think it was a

big deal. Even **_she_** thought that Amy had moved on after Sonic agreed to be her consort. She had no clue that the hedgehog was hiding these feelings for such a long

time. So the princess tried her hardest to view things from Amy's perspective, trying to understand her pain. She tried to imagine what it's like to have

such a one sided crush. What it's like to not have that love reciprocated. And what it felt like to watch the person you're in love with, go out with someone else. She

even remembered how awful she herself felt when she witnessed Sonic and Mina kissing (Issue 99). Not being able to move on for this long must be mentally draining

for the poor girl. Slowly, the chipmunk began to understand and felt remorse for the one crying beside her.

The princess scooches closer to Amy and hugs her tightly. Her motherly nature began to take over again and a sympathetic smile appeared on her muzzle.

"Thank you for your honesty, Amy. It was brave of you to admit something so personal to me."

Amy's eyes widened in shock,

"Y-you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. It took me a bit, but I think I understand." Sally reassured, keeping her arm around Amy.

"Listen, Amy. My relationship with Sonic wasn't as immediate as you'd think. It took a very long time to get where we are now. In fact, we didn't get along at all

early on. Sonic and I would constantly get on each other's nerves due to our conflicting personalities. But over time, we grew a genuine love for one another as we

continued to fight for the freedom of Mobius. Initially, I was afraid of committing to a relationship with him because I didn't want to shatter our friendship if things didn't

work out. Thankfully, we've been fine together despite our very different preferences."

Sally changes her expression to a slightly more serious one,

"But even if Sonic and I are together, we don't let ourselves get characterized by our relationship. We're both strong and independent people with our own

responsibilities. We can take care of ourselves."

She pauses and then smiles once more,

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't let yourself be defined by your feelings for Sonic. I strongly believe that you're already a strong and independent

woman, and that you've matured so much since you first arrived in Knothole. Admittedly, I used to think you couldn't handle things on your own. But you've proven to

me many times that you can. Now I consider you one of the strongest and most capable members of the Freedom Fighters."

Amy looks up at Sally with tear stained eyes,

"D-do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely! We all cherish you and each other. Believe it or not, Sonic was actually the first person who was in favor of you becoming a Freedom Fighter when I

brought it to his attention. Just because me and him are together, doesn't mean he doesn't care about you or any of the others. We're like a family. We'll always be

there to support one another. Never forget that, Amy." Sally advised, hugging Amy again.

Amy was overwhelmed by receiving such high praise.

The rosy hedgehog, with a sad smile, hugs the princess back,

"Thank you, Sally. I-I'm glad to have you as my friend. You're like the sister that I wish I had when growing up."

Sally rests her head on Amy's to comfort her. After a couple more minutes, the pink hedgehog's sniveling came to a stop and she was completely calm.

"So, do you think you'll be okay?" Sally asked, still hugging her.

"I think so… it'll take some time to move on, though…" Amy answered honestly.

"Remember, if you need to talk, we're all here for you." Sally reminded her.

The chipmunk takes Nicole out of the holster on her boot.

She checks the time and gasps,

"Oh my, we have to meet the others in five minutes."

"We better get over there quickly then." Amy said.

Both of them jump off of the roof and head for the Great Forest.

 **Elsewhere, at the Casino Night Zone Club, Rouge and Geoffrey St. John are dressed in classy attire. Rouge was wearing a pink dress and St. John was wearing**

 **a** **beige suit. They were both undercover as a couple. The Acorn's Secret Service sent them there to investigate the supposed return of Mammoth Mogul...**

Geoffrey looked uncomfortable,

"Eh, I'm not sure how I feel about this, Rouge."

Rouge elbows his shoulder softly,

"Lighten up, St. John. We're the best looking couple in this club."

St. John frowned at the bat,

"You better not say that around my wife. She doesn't know that I'm doing this."

Scratch, the robot chicken, overhears what the two new guests say and walks over to them,

"Not to worry, sir. Anything that happens in the club, stays in the club."

"Good to know, mate..." Geoffrey replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

Rouge raises one of her eyebrows,

"…And you are?"

"The name's Scratch. I'm Mogul's doorman." the chicken answered.

Shortly, Mogul approaches the three from behind,

"Speaking of which... Good morning, Mr. Mogul." Scratch said, making Rouge and Geoffrey turn around.

Mogul smirks,

"Geoffrey St. John and Rouge the Bat? Well, this is a pleasant surprise. What brings you two elite spies to my exquisite Casino Night Club?"

"We just came to have a good time, mate. We heard this place was pretty renowned." Geoffrey answered.

"And in such a short amount of time too. It's impressive how successful your casino already is." Rouge added.

A motobug comes right next to Geoffrey with a tray on its head. The tray has two margarine cocktails on it.

"Hmm… Seems like you also got some of Robotnik's badniks to play nice." Geoffrey said as he grabbed both drinks, giving one to Rouge.

"Yes, these miserable automatons were left to rust at the Robo-Hobo Jungle. So I gave them a new function." Mogul explained.

Rouge had a suave smile,

"Is that the same reason you relocated the Bottom of the Barrel Grill to here?"

"Why, of course. My clients should be well nourished, no?" Mogul replied.

A robot monkey called Coconuts, came beside Mogul and tapped on his leg,

"Mr. Mogul, your investors' meeting is ready."

"I must attend to business. It was delightful speaking with you Ms. Rouge and Mr. St. John." Mogul responded.

And with that, the giant mammoth in a suit walks away.

Mogul entered the bar, where his associates were waiting for him at a table. Those associates were Sleuth Dog (Destructix leader) and the Hooligans

(Bean/Bark/Nack).

Coconuts and Scratch followed Mogul and went behind the counter with Grounder.

"Wow, Coconuts! Me and Scratch got some nice jobs, but you work directly for da' boss." Grounder complimented.

Coconuts frowns at Grounder and crosses his arms,

"Shut your trap, Grounder. I don't enjoy this job at all. I was supposed to rebuild the badnik horde and become their leader. Now, I've been reduced to a butler

monkey! I **_will_** find a way to get all the badniks out of here and then we'll be able to get revenge our on that stupid hedgehog."

"I want some revenge on that blasted hedgehog, too." Scratch agreed.

"Yeah, dat sounds good. I'm sure glad da doctor made us persistent." Grounder concurred as well.

Scratch smirks,

"No, he made me persistent. He made you guys too dumb to quit! Bwa-ha-ha!"

Mogul hears their conversation and frowns,

"Silence! You all work for me now and aren't going anywhere!" he scolded, shocking the robots into silence.

He turned his attention back to his "benefactors" with an evil grin,

"Anyways, I'm so glad that you could make it, gentlemen. Let's discuss the plan that I have for you all."

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's in it for us." Sleuth replied.

"Have patience, my colleague. Allow me to explain the plan first. I believe that you will enjoy it." Mogul reassured.

"Alright, Mogul. We're listenin'." Nack acknowledged.

"I know of your vendetta against Sonic the Hedgehog and I wish to endorse it. I'll pay handsomely for Princess Sally's capture. If memory serves me correct, that is

Sonic's significant other. With her capture, he'll be severely provoked and enraged. It'll be a blow to that obnoxious bravado of his." the mammoth explained.

Sleuth grew his own evil grin and rubbed his hands together,

"Ha! I like the sound of that. This should be a good time. I'll start the box truck and gather the Destructix."

"We're in too! I have a score to settle with the royal brat (Issue 123)." Nack announced.

"Fine. Just wait for us outside and be ready to jump in the truck." Sleuth instructed.

 **Meanwhile, Sonic and the original** **Freedom Fighters are sitting together on a hill near the edge of the Great Forest. They're all staring at the remains of**

 **Knothole with sad eyes.**

Sally and Amy see them all sitting in the distance, and make their way to the gang swiftly.

"Hi, you guys!" Amy announced.

The Freedom Fighters turn their heads towards Sally and Amy.

Sonic smirks at them,

"Was wondering when you two would get here. I gathered everyone just like you said, Sal."

Sally smiles back,

"Thank you, Sonic."

Sally sat next to Sonic and Amy was next to Sally.

Tails stares at the princess curiously,

"So how come you wanted all of us out here, Sally?"

"I'm sorry about how sudden this was, Tails. I just... don't feel right being in the Great Forest without you all..." Sally answered.

Everyone looks back at the remains of Knothole with melancholy overcoming them.

"We hear ya, Sally. I still can't believe that Knothole is really gone." Rotor said.

"I can't believe it either, Rotor. It's one thing to let go, but to even accept it is… difficult." Sally agreed.

She leaned her head on Sonic, prompting him to put his arm around her.

"Oui, I still remember all ze good times we had here... All ze hardships we've been through too..." Antoine added, holding Bunnie's organic hand.

Sonic couldn't help staring down at the ground in disappointment,

"The invasion still eats at me too, you guys. I feel like I should've been able to do more."

"Sonic, you saved everyone from becoming Eggman's main power source." Amy said.

"No, Amy. You saved everyone from those egg grapes. I just distracted Eggman so you could get the job done." Sonic corrected.

Sally frowns at the hedgehog,

"You did much more than that and you know it. Why do you keep putting so much weight on your shoulders?"

"Because most people see me as the Hero of Mobius! I'm supposed to be the fastest thing alive!" the Blue Blur snapped.

Everyone's shocked expressions immediately forced the hedgehog to calm down. During the awkward silence that followed, Sonic started to contemplate why he

snapped like that. It wasn't in the wise cracking hedgehog's nature. He rarely lashes out on anyone, but the topic of Knothole's Destruction was a sore spot for him.

"I was too slow to stop the Egg Fleet from destroying Knothole. Not to mention I got a major whooping from Eggman's stupid battle suit. Looking at this wasteland

makes me feel like I let everyone down." he finished.

"Well you didn't, because everyone is still alive and well. Sonic, as great of a hero you are, you can't do everything. Just be glad that everyone made it out okay." Sally

replied, rubbing his back afterwards.

Bunnie smiles at Sonic,

"Sally-girl's right, Sugar-hog. Don't blame yerself for everything that's happened. We still ended up kickin' the tar out of Robotnik, and now we're better protected,

thanks to Nicole and her force field."

"Everyone knows how hard you work to protect Mobius. They still believe in you. And even if they didn't, **_we_** do." Amy added.

After a few more seconds of brooding, the words of encouragement made the Blue Blur smile,

"I guess things could've ended up worse. I'm just glad nothing happened to you all during that whole fiasco. I wouldn't have been able to get this far if my friends

didn't have my back."

Everyone else smiles in agreement,

"The feeling is mutual, Sonic." Rotor agreed.

On a different hillside not too far away, Nack is in a prone position with his sniper rifle. Bean and Bark were also hiding in close proximity to the Freedom

Fighters, getting ready to ambush them. Sonic and his friends had been too distracted by their conversation to notice this.

"Nack to Sleuth, my team is in position now." he reported through a headset.

"Good. I'll have the Destructix come to lend Bean and Bark some assistance. They'll distract the Freedom Fighters while I lead the princess away from them. Once you

stun her, I'll come with the box truck so you can put her in the back." Sleuth instructed.

The dog followed up this statement with a threat,

"I could really use that money from Mogul, weasel boy. If you screw this up, me and my Destructix will make sure you suffer."

The weasel scoffs,

"Don't patronize me, ya mutt. I never miss."

He checks his sniper's ammunition and his eyes widen.

'Damn it! I forgot to stop by my place on the way here! I only got two paralyzer shots!' he growled in his thoughts.

Nack shook his head,

"...Whatever… two shots will be enough. I'll use the extra shot on that cyborg. That should tip things in our favor. Heh heh, I can't wait to wipe out Sonic's smug

expression."

Sonic stood up and faced all of his teammates,

"Alright, gang. Let's head to Freedom HQ."

Everyone agreed and jumped down to the wasteland in front of them. They were about to start walking together when suddenly, a bomb is thrown from the hill they

were just on.

The explosive lands in front of Tails.

"Ah, a bomb!" he yelled, throwing the explosive away.

Bean and Bark then come out of the bushes with some new extreme gear hoverboards.

The green duck smiles at the group,

"Hiiii, did ya miss us?"

He started tossing more bombs at the Freedom Fighters.

"You losers don't know when to quit, do you? I'm gonna guess that Mogul hired you?" Sonic asked, dodging the bombs.

"Mogul had nothing to do with this, Sonic." said a voice behind the Freedom Fighters.

They all spin their heads around and see Sleuth Dog and his Destructix come out of a big box truck.

Sally frowns at the dog traitor,

"And we're supposed to believe you?"

Sleuth grinned,

"You can believe what you like. Either way, we've got a job to do."

All the villains start to surround the heroes.

Sonic, feeling a rush of excitement, smirks confidently,

"Looks like we're gonna have our hands full. You guys ready to rumble?"

"Let's do it to it, Freedom Fighters!" Sally answered, activating her ring blades.

"Right!" everyone else yelled.

Bark is the first one to move. He tried to run them down with his extreme gear, but Sally leaned all the way back and held herself up with her right hand. Bark flew over

her, which allowed the princess to cut the board in half with her left ring blade.

"You've already tried that strategy before. Learn something new for once." she said mockingly.

Bark flew towards Amy and she knocked him away with a hard hammer swing,

"And he's outta here!"

Bark recovered from the attack and charged for Sonic instead while Bean started to throw even more bombs.

Then Destructix began to attack too.

Sonic handled Bark and Bean, Bunnie and Rotor handled Drago and Sergeant Simian, Tails and Amy handled Lightning Lynx and Predator Hawk, and Sally and Antoine

handled Sleuth and Flying Frog.

"You two are really starting to tick me off!" Sonic complained to Bean and Bark.

He performs a reckless spin dash, aiming for Bark's chest, but the polar bear catches him with both hands. Sonic rebounds into the air and Bean throws multiple bombs

at the spot he's going to land on.

"Yeow!" Sonic yelled.

The duck laughs,

"Aww, did I play too rough Mr. Needlemouse?"

Rotor smirks at Drago,

"It's weird to see you on a team again, Drago. I thought you would've betrayed them by now." he said, punching the wolf in the gut.

"Shut up, walrus! Your strength pales in comparison to mine!" Drago yelled, returning the punch.

Rotor grabs the wolf's arm, flips him over his head and onto his back with incredible force. The impact is enough to knock him out.

The walrus smiled smugly,

"Care to run that by me again?"

Bunnie laughed,

"Nice one, Rotor! Ah got the chimp under control over here!"

The Rabbot punched Sergeant Simian with her extended robot hand, causing him to reel back in pain.

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard and something hits Bunnie on the shoulder. Whatever it was, shocked her violently and her limbs short circuited. Eventually, she fell

unconscious due to the pain.

"Bunnie!" Rotor yelled out.

The others were too busy dealing with their respective opponents, except for Antoine, who got distracted by his wife going down.

"Ma chere!" the coyote cried out before getting kicked in the face by Flying Frog for not paying attention.

Meanwhile, Sonic had finally dealt with Bean and Bark after some well-placed spin dashes. The Blue Blur then rushes over to his fallen teammate and removed the

object off of her shoulder.

His face scrunches up,

"A paralyzer bullet? This is definitely Nack's doing. I can't believe I forgot about him."

Sonic became skeptical and checked his surroundings,

"Where's he hiding?"

Sally was busy trying to get to Sleuth, who was shooting laser blasts at her. She was deflecting said shots with her ring blades until she got close enough to cut his

gun in half. She follows this up with a kick, knocking him onto the ground. Then the princess keeps the dog from getting up by putting one of her ring blades to his neck

while placing a foot on his chest.

"You're done, Sleuth. Now tell me who hired you? It was Mogul wasn't it?" Sally asked.

Sleuth's evil grin returned,

"As I said before dear princess, he had nothing to do with this. I've done my job and lead you away from the others like I was supposed too."

At that moment, Nack had his crosshairs on Sally.

'This is for that knee you gave me a while back, princess!' the weasel yelled in his head.

He fired the shot and got a direct hit on her neck.

"Ahhh!" Sally screamed out.

She got shocked just like Bunnie and was eventually incapacitated from the violent electrical shocks. The electricity also managed to deactivate the ring blades.

Sonic turns his head,

"Oh, no! Sal!"

He immediately tries to get to Sally before she was taken to the truck, but Sergeant Simian prevents this. The monkey knocked Rotor away and intercepted the

hedgehog's rescue by lunging at him.

The ape had Sonic in a choke hold,

"You aren't going anywhere, son." he said, tossing the hedgehog face first into the dirt.

Amy was able to knock out Lightning Lynx with an uppercut hammer swing to the face but Tails still had his hands full with Predator Hawk. She wanted to help the two

tailed fox, but something else caught her eye.

She saw a chained up Sally being dragged to the box truck by Sleuth and Nack.

This made her immediately sprint towards them,

"Hey! Let her go right now!"

Nack looked behind him in horror,

"Oh, crap! It's that crazy pink hedgehog! Get us outta here ya stupid mutt!"

Unfortunately, Amy wasn't fast enough to catch the assailants and the truck promptly drove off.

She starts growling,

"Those idiots are going to pay!"

The pink hedgehog focused her attention on Flying Frog, who was still giving Antoine problems. The raging girl charges at the frog and scores multiple blows with

her hammer. The amphibian tries to grab the hammer with his tongue, but Amy steps on it and scores one final hit to the head. Flying Frog was down but Tails

and Predator Hawk were still going at it. In response, the hedgehog does her trademark hammer jump and drags Predator Hawk down to the ground with a hammer

slam. Now the only one who remained was Sergeant Simian. Amy noticed that Sonic was starting to get tired after having to deal with Bean and Bark, along with the explosions

and slams he took. She began to charge up a powerful hammer spin (Pink Typhoon) to stop the ape.

Sergeant Simian hears the charging noise and turns around,

"What's this?"

He was answered by Amy's devastating hammer spin attack, which made everything go black for him on impact.

Sonic smirks softly,

"And **_that_** my friends, is why you don't mess with Amy."

Rotor and Antoine nod silently in agreement, still shocked by the young girl's display.

Tails flew down beside Amy, panting heavily.

Even though the heroes had defeated everyone here, Sleuth and Nack got away with Sally.

 **Inside the box truck, Nack and Sleuth Dog are on their way back to the Casino Night Club...**

While Sleuth is driving, Nack is in the back next to Sally.

"Make sure the princess stays incapacitated. We don't need her causing trouble when we get back to the bar." Sleuth instructed.

"Yeah, yeah, calm your nerves. As long as that bullet is stuck on her neck, she's completely paralyzed." Nack reassured.

"Heh, that's good. I don't want any lip from her either." the dog jested.

"Was it smart to leave everyone behind? If we run into trouble at the casino, we won't have any backup." Nack asked.

"We'll be fine, weasel-boy. Don't get your tail in a knot."

Nack points at the mutt,

"Watch it!"

 **Back at Freedom HQ...**

Sonic and the gang finish tying up all of the enemies that Nack and Sleuth left behind. The group then went downstairs and waited for Bunnie to regain consciousness.

"What in the who haw happened?" Bunnie groaned as she sat up.

Antoine ran towards the coach and gently hugged his wife,

"Oh dieu merci! I'm so happy zat you're okay! Please forgive me, mon amour, for not being able to protecting you."

Bunnie hugs him back,

"Don't worry 'bout it, Sugar-twan. Ah know you had yer hands tied."

Sonic walks towards the two with a smile,

"Glad to see you up, Buns. How are your robotic limbs? Are they still herky jerky?"

"Everything checks out, Sonic. Her arm and legs are functioning properly." Rotor answered.

"Good, 'cause I need you three to watch the HQ. I'm going with Amy and Tails to rescue Sal." Sonic ordered.

"Hold up, Sally-girl was kidnapped?!" Bunnie asked.

Tails looks at Bunnie anxiously,

"Yeah, Nack and Sleuth got away with her."

"They won't have her for long, though." Sonic commented.

The hedgehog turns to face Amy and Tails,

"You two ready to go?"

"Wait, are you sure I shouldn't stay here and keep watch?" Amy asked back.

"You bet I'm sure, Amy. What you did earlier was awesome! I need you and that powerful hammer." Sonic answered.

Amy smiles at him,

"Then let's go!"

"Right!" Tails agreed, giving her a high five.

The Blue Blur picks Amy up with a confident grin,

"Those goons won't stand a chance against us three. Let's juice!"

The trio rocketed upstairs and left for Casino Night Zone.

 **Back at the Casino Night Club, Nack and Sleuth walk into the bar with an unconscious Sally.**

Coconuts comes up to both of them,

"I see you captured the princess. Good job."

"Save the compliments and tell us where Mogul is. I'd like to get paid quickly before things go sour." Sleuth commanded.

Nack growls,

"So you are worried about the Freedom Fighters coming here! You friggin' liar!"

"Can it, Nack. I know you want to get paid too. The sooner we can get out of here, the better." Sleuth advised.

"My master is busy running the club. He'll pay you on his time, not yours." Coconuts said.

"Well unless he wants me to leave with the princess, I suggest he hurries up!" Sleuth yelled.

"Fine! I will inform my master of your impatience. You better keep the princess here." the chimp complied reluctantly and walked out the door.

Coconuts eventually finds the mammoth and catches him talking to Rouge. He decides to listen in.

"Do you understand my instructions, Ms. Rouge? All you have to do is make sure Sleuth takes the blame for planning the princess's capture, and then you'll get paid.

I'm sure Sonic will blame me for her kidnapping, so I'll play the wounded party and he'll look like a fool in front of the public." Mogul explained.

"Got it, big guy." Rouge acknowledged.

 **Shortly, Sonic and his two friends arrive at the entrance of the club...**

He maintained his confident smirk,

"I guess this is the place. Let's get in there and rescue Sal."

As they walk inside, Sonic analyzes his surroundings and his confidence turns into confusion,

"Wait a sec... I don't remember the Casino Night Club looking like this."

"What do you mean, Sonic?" Amy asked.

"Sal and I came to this place when we were younger (Issue 16) and it was a lot more plain then this... Actually, now that I think about it, this place didn't even have

the same name. It was called Renobotnik's Robo-Casino back then." Sonic explained.

Amy had a look of intrigue,

"That **_is_** weird…"

Tails snaps his fingers,

"Oh yeah, I remember that story. That was when original Robotnik tried to use his "wheel of misfortune" against you."

"Wow, I actually forgot about that part. You gotta good memory lil bro." Sonic complimented, rubbing his best bud's head playfully.

"Well, he issuper smart." Amy added while putting her arm around the young fox.

The Blue Blur grins,

"True."

Geoffrey spots Sonic from one of the tables and approaches him with a smirk,

"Ayy, well if it ain't Sonic the Hedgehog! How's it going, mate?"

Sonic turned around in surprise but then smirked back,

"Hey! How's it going, Stinky?"

The skunk immediately frowns,

"I told you not to call me that, ya bloke."

Sonic smiles suavely and raises both of his eyebrows,

"Aww, c'mon St. John. I'm just poking fun."

Amy glanced at the secret agent curiously,

"What are you doing here, Geoffrey?"

"Elias assigned me to track down Mogul after he escaped. He wanted to find out if he was planning anything else." Geoffrey answered.

"Heh, smart move. But if you're here, then shouldn't Hersey be too?" Sonic asked.

Geoffrey looks up and sighs,

"I'm afraid not, mate. G.U.N.'s intelligence heard about what's happened and pushed for a joint operation. They sent me here with Rouge instead, but I lost contact

with her not too long ago."

Rouge finds Sonic chatting with her "partner" and heads their way with a smile appearing on her muzzle,

'Alright, I told Sleuth exactly what he needs to do. Now I just have to let things play out.' she thought.

"There you are, St. John. Enjoying your chat with Sonic?" Rouge asked.

"Sup, Rouge." Sonic replied.

"Hello, yourself. Tell me, what brings you three to Mogul's famous club?" the bat replied.

"Sally's been kidnapped by Nack and Sleuth and we came here to rescue her." Amy answered.

Geoffrey's eyes widened,

"What?! How?!"

Sonic frowns,

"It was the Hooligans and those Destructix dorks. They got the jump on us and snatched her away. They have to be working for tall, brown, and ugly. He's gotta be the one behind this whole thing."

"Follow me, then. I know just where to look." Rouge advised.

The bat leads them to a door near the back of the casino and puts her ear near it.

"Yep. They're definitely in here."

"Alright, we'll bust through in three." Geoffrey instructed.

"Screw that!" Sonic yelled.

He impulsively spin dashes through the door, with Amy and Tails behind him. There were a bunch of badniks in the bar along with Nack and Sleuth. Sleuth was

anticipating them, but Nack was caught completely off guard. Amy immediately went after the weasel, knowing his fear of her. Tails handled the badniks, and Sonic spin

dashed directly into Sleuth's chest.

"Ahhh! Get away from me!" Nack screamed while running from Amy.

The rosy hedgehog had a mischievous smile,

"Why are you afraid? I'm just a delicate lady."

"Delicate isn't the word I'd use..." Nack insulted.

Amy answered the insult with a hammer to the back of his head, putting him down temporarily,

"Hmmph! Serves you right!"

Tails had cornered Scratch and Grounder after destroying the badniks.

While all of this was happening, St. John stared at the three heroes in disbelief.

Rouge comes next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder,

"I think they have everything handled, Geoffrey."

Geoffrey snaps out of it and frowns,

"R-right."

Sonic aggressively grabbed Sleuth by his shirt and glared at him,

"Where's Sal?"

Sleuth grinned,

"You mean the princess? We tossed her behind the counter like the Freedom Fighter trash she is."

Sonic growls loudly in response and lifts his fist to punch Sleuth before suddenly pausing,

'No! I can't lose my cool again. That's what he wants.' he thought.

The hedgehog frowns and decides to push Sleuth towards the table,

"You're not worth it."

The Blue Blur turns towards Tails,

"Keep an eye on him buddy."

"You got it, Sonic." Tails acknowledged.

The young fox went over to Sleuth, causing the dog to laugh.

"You don't scare me, kid."

Tails tenses up and smacks him across the face with his two tails.

Sleuth groans in pain while gripping his sore face,

"That was for holding me hostage last time." the fox stated.

Sonic goes behind the counter and sees a chained up Sally lying face down in a really awkward position.

He growls again,

'They really did throw her behind here!'

He came to her and leaned down by her side, holding her close.

His frown had shifted into a look of guilt,

"Sorry I couldn't get to you in time, Sal. I **_hate_** seeing you hurt like this."

He pulled the bullet off of her neck and Sally immediately activated her ring blades, cutting the shackles off of her wrists and ankles.

"It's okay, Blue. I'm just a little sore is all." Sally answered back.

The chipmunk looks up at her savior shamefully and cups his cheek,

"Besides, it was my fault for taking Sleuth's bait..."

Sonic held his hand up to the one Sally had on his cheek and gave her a confused look,

"You heard what I said?"

"Yes, actually. I've been awake since they threw me in the truck, but that bullet prevented me from moving any of my muscles while it was on my neck. I wasn't able to

open my eyes or use my ring blades. It's rather strange..." Sally explained.

"Huh, that is kinda odd." Sonic agreed, scratching his head afterwards.

They both stood up and the hedgehog hugged his partner carefully,

"I'm…glad you're safe, Sal. I don't know what I'd do with myself if something worse happened to you."

Amy and Tails couldn't help but watch the couple happily.

Sally giggles heartily at his concern,

"I'm fine, Sonic. Really."

Sonic smiles lovingly at the princess and strokes her hair,

"If you say so."

The hedgehog glances at his other two companions,

"How are you two holding up?"

Amy and Tails look at each other with their own triumphant smirks, as they stood over the injured Sleuth and Nack.

"We're fine. These two chumps won't be going anywhere." Amy answered, fist bumping with Tails.

Sally walks up to the two and leans down, placing one hand on Amy's shoulder and the other on Tails',

"Thank you both for helping Sonic with the rescue."

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you guys." Sonic agreed.

Amy and Tails hug the princess with warm smiles.

"Anytime, Sally." Amy said.

"We're just glad you're safe." Tails said.

Sonic towers over the three and states,

"Alright, gang. Now that we've filled our mushy quota, I think it's time we complain to the management."

"Agreed." Sally replied with a frown.

They all walk through the back door and back into the club area.

"Hey, Mogut! Get out here and meet me face to your ugly face!" Sonic yelled.

Everybody in the club gasped.

Shortly, an irritated Mogul appears before them,

"What is the meaning of this? I told you our business was concluded, boy!"

"If that's true, then why did you place a target on Sally?" Sonic asked.

"You wound me so. I would never place a bounty on an innocent young woman. Least of all the princess." Mogul answered.

"Pfft, don't give me that! Nack and Sleuth had her captured in **_your_** bar!" the hedgehog yelled.

"That's preposterous!"

The mammoth then spots Sleuth limping towards the exit,

"Sleuth! What have you been using the old bar for?"

Sleuth turns towards Mogul,

"You've gone soft, Mogul. So I've been using the bar you generously donated as a front for our mercenary actions." he 'confessed'.

"Swatbots, see to it that this charlatan and his accomplice are expelled from the premises." Mogul commanded.

The Swatbots take the grinning Sleuth away.

"Drop the act, Mogul. I know it was you who set this entire thing up." Sonic argued.

Mogul smirks,

"Well, what proof do you have to counter a full confession?"

Sonic clenched his fists. He knew he had no convincing evidence that Mogul was the master mind of the plan.

"I thought so."

The mammoth continues to speak while walking away,

"Perhaps if you had come to me first, I could have assisted you in your endeavors- rather than you disturbing my place of business."

Everyone in the club was giving dirty looks to the Freedom Fighters, making the four of them feel uncomfortable.

"Let's... just leave." Sally suggested.

The rest of them agreed reluctantly and walk out of the exit.

Amy growls,

"I wish we got to whack that jerk once to make things even."

"I like the sound of that." Sonic agreed.

Tails looked at the two, feeling tense.

"He'll get what's coming to him, everyone. Let's just be happy that we made it out safely." Sally counseled.

As they walked outside, Sonic put his arm around Sally and his smirk came back.

"Sal's right. We should be looking at the brighter side of things. Right now we should focus on getting back to the others at the HQ."

The others lighten up in response to Sonic's sentence. And with that, Sonic carries Sally and Tails flies with Amy as they travel back home.

 **End.**


	13. The Anti-Mobius Saga

**The Anti-Mobius Saga (Issues 189-196 Redone)**

 **Mobius, two hundred years into the future (3437 P.X.E)…**

A white hedgehog named Silver is seen flying above the ruins of a devastated city. He looks up at the sky, which was red with a tinge of orange. He eventually comes

across a giant skyscraper and uses his psychokinesis to fly up the building. He lands on the edge of the roof and scans the entire vicinity, seeing nothing but a

wasteland.

Silver sits on the corner of the skyscraper and stares out into the distance,

'Still nobody…' he thought.

Looking at the wasteland caused the hedgehog to feel an overwhelming sadness as his gape fell to the ground,

'Seeing places like this make me once again wonder how all of this happened… How Mobius ended up in such a devastated state…'

He raised his head and frowned,

'I've learned a small amount of history thanks to Edmund, but not enough to get a concrete answer. I was told by my master that two hundred years ago, there was a

traitor amongst a group known as the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Apparently, the traitor was the one who triggered the chain of events that led to this future. But

who is the traitor, and what did they do to cause all of this? I really wish I knew… all of my research has-'

Another telepathic voice interrupts Silver's thoughts,

'Silver? Where have you gone?' the raspy male voice asked.

"What?!" Silver yelped.

He was startled by the voice and fell off the building. Fortunately, he was able to slow his descent with psychokinesis, allowing him to land on the ground safely.

The hedgehog felt a bit miffed by the voice's sudden interruption,

'Don't scare me like that, Master Mogul. I almost got turned into a pancake.'

'I apologize, my boy, but I need you to return to me. We must discuss what you found in your research.' Mogul said.

'I'm on my way.'

Silver levitates from the ground and rockets off at a fast speed until he gets to the entrance of the former Casino Night Zone Club. The building had been mostly

torn apart because of age. However, it was one of the few safe places to stay at on the planet. He enters the building and makes his way towards the management

office.

Sitting in the office chair was an elderly looking Mammoth Mogul, who was smiling at Silver,

"There's my young ward. Where did you take off to this time?"

Silver shied away from Mogul,

"I'm sorry, master. I went to search for survivors again."

Mogul raised an eyebrow,

"Silver, I told you that the only other being on this planet is the guardian of Onyx Island."

This grim reminder made Silver's head dip down in sadness,

"I know it seems pointless to continue searching… but there's… there's some part of me that wants to believe that there's someone else out there."

The hedgehog teared up,

"That if I could find just one person... I wouldn't feel so lonely."

Mogul walked up to Silver and placed a hand on his head,

"There's nothing wrong with holding out hope, young one. But that's precisely why I need you to focus on the task I've given you. If we can foil the traitor before

anything happens, then all of the damage in this time will be undone."

Silver wipes the small tears away,

"I understand."

Mogul sits back down,

"So tell me more about this article you found."

The mammoth hands Silver a damaged, black and white newspaper. It had an article that mentions Scourge wanting to take over Mobius (though it refers to him as

"Evil Sonic").

Silver grabs the paper and skims over it before looking back at Mogul,

"Yeah, I found this article in the guardian's personal library. It was about this so called "Evil Sonic" trying to conquer Mobius. So I decided to do more research

on this, "Sonic", person and I discovered that he was a founding member of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Do you remember him by chance?"

Mogul rubbed his chin,

"My memory is a bit hazy... but now that you mention it, I do. I recall him being a blue hedgehog whom many regarded as the most powerful being on the planet."

Silver grew an enthusiastic smile,

"Then he must be the traitor! Only he has the kind of power to destroy the Freedom Fighters!"

Mogul put his hand up, signaling Silver to calm down,

"There's one problem, though."

Silver pouts,

"What is it?"

"I don't remember Sonic having a leather jacket and sunglasses." Mogul answered.

"He probably changed his look to fit the "evil" persona." Silver argued.

The mammoth didn't seem convinced,

"Perhaps, but I don't want to jump to conclusions."

The white hedgehog became anxious and pleaded,

"The condition of the planet is worsening every day and this is the strongest lead we have. I think we should go for it, master."

Mogul contemplates his decision for a full minute before tossing the time stone to his pupil,

"Okay, my boy. I will allow you to travel to the past and deal with the traitor. Do you know where you're going?"

Silver smiles,

"Of course I do! I found out that The Freedom Fighters had two meeting places. One is Freedom HQ, and the other is a city called New Mobotropolis. I'm sure I'll find

Sonic at one of these locations."

Mogul shakes his head and finger,

"No, young one. I meant do you know what _**time**_ period you're traveling to?"

"Yes. The article was published on December in the year 3237. That's where I'm heading." Silver answered.

Mogul smiles,

"Alright. Then good luck, Silver."

Silver's sad eyes met with Mogul's,

"Master, before I go… there's one more thing I want to know... If I stop the traitor…will I get my parents back?"

"I don't know. The only way to find out is by stopping the traitor responsible for this future." Mogul answered.

The hedgehog nods,

"Good-bye, Master Mogul."

He levitates with the time stone and shouts,

"Chronos Control!"

A green sphere encompasses him and then disappears.

* * *

 **Anti-Mobius, three days before the present…**

Scourge the Hedgehog and Fiona Fox appear in the alternate dimension thanks to a stolen warp ring they possessed. They had left Mobius in fear of Enerjak

destroying the entire planet.

"Here we are, Fi. Welcome to my home turf." Scourge said.

Fiona analyzed her surroundings with a look of intrigue,

"Wow, it looks **_just_** like Mobius."

The green hedgehog grinned,

"It won't when I'm done with it. I got big plans for this place."

This comment made the red fox curious,

"Do these "plans" have anything to do with whatever Sonic told you? You never did tell me what he said."

Scourge freezes up. He tries to think of an answer. An excuse. But he can't.

Instead, he looks at the ground with a scowl and tells his partner the truth,

"Yeah… the chump told me that at the end of the day, we're not so different. What he said kinda made sense and it got me thinkin' about my potential. About what I

can really do. So I'm gonna separate myself from him by becoming something more. Starting with this stupid planet."

The green hedgehog grins again while clenching one fist,

"I'm gonna take over this zone and become king! Then everyone will bow down and give me the respect I deserve!"

Fiona smirks and wraps her hands around Scourge's arm,

"Sounds ambitious. I like." she approved in a seductive tone.

Scourge gives her a sultry smile,

"That's good, sweets. 'Cause I'm gonna need a queen."

 **Anti-Mobius, the present, Castle Acorn…**

'My name is Fiona Fox… and my entire life has been one giant mess… When I was young, Doctor Robotnik had kidnapped me and many others from our families. After

making a robot duplicate of yours truly, he locked me away and left me to rot in a cell. I was so scared, thinking I was going to be there for the rest of my life. But

then, I had a ray of hope when Sonic the Hedgehog promised to rescue me. I waited months for him to come, but he never returned. That's when I acknowledged that

I'd been forgotten and left for dead. So I made my own way out. And after two long and painful years of digging a secret tunnel, I had finally escaped. I tried to find

my family afterwards, but to no avail. I figured they must've moved on without me. At that point, I knew I had to look out for myself, and that I couldn't rely on anyone.

And ever since then it's been nothing but lies and manipulation. Using other people to my advantage became second nature and I continued to do so for a long time.

Then, out of nowhere, the Xorda attacked Mobius and Sonic sacrificed his life to save everyone. That's when all of my bitter feelings towards him went away and he

inspired me to become a "good guy". So I became a Freedom Fighter and stuck with it for a while… that is, until I met _**him**_ , Scourge the Hedgehog. He convinced me

that the dark path of a villainess was more interesting than being the "vanilla" hero. It also helped that we had a similar outlook on life as well. He seemed to only care

about himself, just like me. He had a rough upbringing, just like me. And he didn't want to rely on others, just like me. And for once in my life, I didn't feel completely

alone. He was fun for me and I felt free around him. I thought I was in love… but then he took me to his zone. He wanted to take over the entire planet and become

king, with me as his queen. I thought it was exciting and acquiesced… but that's when he showed me a different side of himself. He became disgustingly cruel and

merciless as he tried to take over Anti-Mobius, starting with the Anti-Freedom Fighters. He wanted them to take on new appearances and names, but they refused. In

response, he beat them into submission until they obeyed. After that, they along with me became Scourge's back-up as he conquered the whole planet in a matter of

days. Anyone who opposed him was either mercilessly beaten or killed. He's destroyed tons of villages and hurt countless people... nobody stood a chance against him

and it was horrifying to watch. When he noticed that I was disturbed by his behavior, he started to become abusive towards me too. Because of this I'm forced to

comply in fear of getting hurt further... Now I realize what a horrible mistake I've made. I should've never left the Freedom Fighters. They were ** _real_** friends that

actually cared about me, but I took them for granted because of my past feelings of abandonment. At the moment, Scourge plans on invading Mobius-Prime using the

globe posts that we stole from Dr. Kintobor. This... may be my only chance to escape. If I can somehow talk to the Freedom Fighters privately, I might be able to

form an alliance with them, and bring Scourge down. But will they even listen to me…?'

"Yo, babe! Have those two dorks gotten the globe posts up and running yet!?" Scourge yelled from the throne room.

He broke Fiona away from her thoughts, causing her to yell irately,

"Let me check, hon!"

The red fox walks into the lab room, which is in total shambles. There, Boomer and Miles (the Anti-Rotor and Tails) were busy setting up the stolen globe posts.

"How's it looking, you two?" she asked.

"Almost done, Fiona." Boomer reported.

"Yes, we should arrive on schedule." Miles said.

Fiona states in a worried tone,

"Be sure to finish quickly. You don't want to keep **_him_** waiting."

She then turns to Patch and Alicia (Anti-Antoine and Sally), asking,

"Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yes./Oui." they replied.

"Remember the plan you guys. We can't screw this up." Fiona whispered.

Everyone nods silently in agreement.

Fiona returns to the throne room shortly afterwards.

"How're they lookin', babe?" Scourge asked.

The vixen gave him a fake smirk,

"They'll be ready to go when you give the order… your highness."

"They better if they know what's good for 'em. The last thing those punks wanna do is tick off the King of Moebius." he threatened, leaning back in his throne.

 **Mobius, New Mobotropolis…**

Sonic and Sally are seen relaxing near the Lake of Rings. Sonic was lying against a tree with his hands behind his head and Sally was in between his legs with her

head resting on his chest. She had her arms and legs crossed and had her blue vest off as well, revealing the black crop top underneath. Both of them were enjoying

the small amount of leisure time they had, relaxing in silence. The couple was smiling gently with their eyes closed, enjoying each other's warmth and company. No

words were necessary. The wind blows softly on both of them, causing Sally's hair and Sonic's quills to dance in the breeze.

Sally opens her eyes halfway and breaks the silence after what felt like ten minutes,

"This is nice." she said, still smiling softly.

"Yeah, I guess." Sonic agreed, keeping his smile too.

Sally looks up into his emerald eyes with a smirk,

"You know, it's not like you to just sit around and relax. I'm so used to you goofing off with Tails during your free time."

The Blue Blur smiles flirtatiously at the princess,

"Normally I would, but we haven't been able to chill in a while. That, and I owe you some alone time anyways, darlin'."

Sonic starts messing with her hair, massaging the back of her head while doing so. Sally loves it when he plays with her hair (though she's too stubborn to outright

state that to him). She hums in response to the pleasant feeling as the tension in her muscles wither away.

"It's refreshing to hear that from you, Blue. You certainly know how to make me feel extraordinary."

Sonic shrugs and then continues his massage,

"Meh, I try. You're one of the very few people that I can be a little mushy around. I may not be the best when it comes to this stuff, but I'm improving."

"And that you have Sonic Hedgehog, kissing included. Now if only I can get you to stop recklessly charging into battle." she teased, poking his nose softly.

"C'mon, Sal. There's nothing wrong with trusting your instincts every now and then. Besides, I don't always rush in... just fifty percent of the time." he argued, giving

her a goofy grin afterwards.

The princess shakes her head in amusement and checks the time,

"Well, it looks like it's time for me to go. Tails wanted me to meet with him at Freedom HQ."

The chipmunk puts her vest back on and tries to stand up afterwards. But Sonic, still behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and playfully pulls her back down to

his chest. He then rests his chin on her left shoulder and looks into her eyes from the side, giving her a suave grin.

"Nuh-uh, we still got a couple more minutes."

"Sonic, stop. You're being silly." Sally chortled, holding in a giggle and attempting to escape his grasp.

The hedgehog closes his eyes halfway,

"Make me." he challenged.

Sally stops resisting and rolls her eyes,

"Shouldn't you be getting ready, too? You still have a mission at New Megaopolis and you're supposed to meet with the Chaotix."

Sonic smiles sheepishly,

"Oops, kinda forgot about that." he said, releasing his grip on her.

"Why am I not surprised…" the princess stated flatly.

They both stand up and smile softly at each other.

"Alright, guess I'll catch ya later, Sal." Sonic told her.

Sally nods,

"Good luck on your mission, Blue."

They were about to head their separate ways, but Sally turns back towards Sonic.

"Oh, and Sonic?" she started.

Sonic turns his head towards her with an eyebrow raised,

"Hmmm…?"

The princess gives him a look of consideration,

"Please be careful out there."

Sonic smiles and walks back up to her. He then grabs both of her hands and kisses her, to which she gladly returns.

"I will, Sal. No need to worry." he reassured.

The hedgehog winks at her, causing the chipmunk to blush lightly.

 **Ten minutes later, the very cheerful Sally reaches Freedom HQ with Tails waiting outside.**

Tails smiles at the sight of the princess and runs up to hug her,

"Hi, Sally! Thanks for showing up. Me and Rotor have something to show you."

Sally hugs back,

"Lead the way then."

They walk inside and make their way towards the computer lab. Sally sees that the star posts have been activated and became curious.

"Hiya, Sally." Rotor said.

"Hello, Rotor." Sally replied.

She points at the posts,

"What's going on here?"

"The star posts turned on by themselves not too long ago, and we're trying to figure out why." Tails explained.

Sally entered a thinking pose,

"That's odd…the star posts lead to the special zone only, correct?"

"Correct. But according to Nicole, this portal leads to an unknown dimension. We haven't gone through it yet because she said that there could be something

dangerous on the other side." Rotor clarified.

A voice is then heard coming from the portal,

"And she's right, we're all pretty dangerous."

An arm comes out of the portal and blasts the three Freedom Fighters with the sonic cannon on it's wrist.

Shortly, a purple walrus with cybernetics steps out of the portal.

"Anti-Rotor?" Rotor asked, picking himself up.

Boomer sneered,

"Nope, I go by Boomer. And after enhancing myself with cybernetics, I'm the superior version of you now."

Rotor smirks,

"Superior, huh? We'll just see about that!" he yelled, charging towards the doppelganger.

"Let's back him up, Tails!" Sally ordered.

But the two were ambushed by their own evil twins before they could help.

Tails eyes widen,

"Anti-Tails!?"

Miles forcefully pins Tails to the ground,

"Don't you dare call me that, you swine! I only respond to Miles!"

Princess Alicia wrapped her electric whip around Sally, keeping her stunned on the ground, and Boomer uses his sonic cannons to get the upper hand on Rotor, blasting

him against the wall multiple times.

"Patch, tell Fiona that the area is secure." Alicia ordered.

"Oui, ma princesse." Patch replied before turning to the portal.

"Did you hear zat, madam?"

Fiona peaks her head out,

"I heard. Scourge is still getting ready so keep up the act if you want to live. He can't know that we're plotting against him." she whispered.

Patch, Boomer, and Alicia nod in response.

"Suppression Squad, press forward!" Fiona commanded.

Bunnie, Antoine, and Amy hear the ruckus from downstairs and three head upstairs to see what's going on.

 **Meanwhile, in New Megaopolis…**

Sonic, along with Knuckles and the Chaotix, have made major progress in their mission to destroy an important communication outpost. If they can demolish this

specific outpost, Eggman will lose communication with half of the continent.

"Press forward, Chaotix! We got 'em on the run!" Vector ordered.

Sonic was fighting alongside Knuckles and they both take out two Dark Egg Legion tanks with a spin-dash and fist slam respectively.

"Man, Sally was worrying about nothing. These new Egg Legion goons are barely putting up a fight. Heck, Scratch and Grounder were bigger threats than these clowns

in black pajamas." Sonic jested, chuckling afterwards.

He looks at Knuckles, seeing his very serious and uneasy demeanor.

"What's with the angst, Rad Red? You've been acting weird this entire mission."

Knuckles growls softly,

"It's because I'm responsible for the Dark Egg Legion."

Sonic let out an annoyed sigh,

"Oh, come **_on_** , Knuckles. Enough with the self-loathing."

"If I hadn't taken their cybernetics away, they wouldn't have been forced to make an alliance with Eggman! This all happened because of what I did as Enerjak!"

the echidna yelled.

"Get outta here with that nonsense, Knux. Your mind was being controlled by that creepy dude in white bandages; it wasn't your fault. Also, these guys decided to sell

themselves out. It was their choice, not yours." Sonic counseled, taking out a couple more infantry with another spin-dash.

"Still, they're almost all that is left of my people. I have to at least try and help them... Now cover my back! I need to get to their leader!" Knuckles commanded,

knocking a few badniks out of his way.

Sonic waves at Mighty,

"You heard the man, Mighty! Let's back him up!"

Mighty acknowledges Sonic with a thumbs up and a smirk.

 **Back at Freedom HQ…**

Patch and Alicia cautiously leave the computer room.

"You better cover my back, Patch! There's bound to be more Freedom Fighters in this place!" Alicia yelled.

"Calme-toi, ma princesse. We can handle ze others no problem." Patch reassured.

Suddenly, Amy appears from one side of the hallway and smashes the wall next to Patch.

Amy smiles mischievously at the evil coyote,

"Hi. We weren't expecting any visitors. Think you can handle me "no problem"?

"Eep! Va-t'en, monstre!" Patch screamed while running away.

The raging hedgehog gives chase,

"Get back over here so I can smash you!"

Alicia face palms,

"Well, there goes my cover. Idiot…"

Bunnie sneaks up on Alicia from the other side of the hallway.

"Y'all got some nerve comin' here uninvited." she said, pinning Alicia's arm behind her back.

Boomer then comes out of the computer room and ambushes Bunnie after dealing with Rotor. He shoots his sonic cannons, knocking her away.

The cybernetic walrus towered over her with a grin,

"So sorry we came unannounced. Perhaps we should have given you all a warning."

"Get away from my wife!" Antoine yelled.

He went after Boomer, trying to cut up his cybernetic cords. The walrus dodges frantically in response, knowing how vital the cords were.

Back in the computer room, Tails is still grappling with Miles, and Rotor was on the ground after taking so many blasts from Boomer's cannons. Sally is finally able to

overcome the pain of Alicia's electric whip. She activates her ring blades and cuts the whip off of her. When the princess stands up, she pants heavily as the pain fades

away.

When the princess looked to her side, she saw an injured Rotor fidgeting on the ground,

"Rotor!"

Sally rushes to his side and helps him up,

"Are you okay?"

Rotor smirks,

"These are just small bruises. I'll heal."

The walrus tries to walk but then falls to his knees,

"Agh, my back!" he grumbled.

The fighting between both groups started to annoy Fiona, who was standing next to the star posts.

'I don't know how much longer we can keep this facade up. Should I tell her now? What if she doesn't listen? What if Scourge hears me?!' she pondered.

Sally noticed the vixen and grew a scowl,

"What's the meaning of this, Fiona? You aren't from Anti-Mobius, so what are you doing with our evil twins?" she asked, startling the fox of her thoughts.

No answer was given... Instead, Scourge steps out of the portal to greet everyone.

"The King of Moebius has finally arrived ladies and gents! Now bow down to me or suffer a major beatin' from my Suppression Squad!" he announced.

Sally and Rotor's eyes widen at the hedgehogs sudden appearance.

'Oh, no! He was supposed to come on my signal!' Fiona screamed in her thoughts.

Sally snaps out of her shocked state and immediately rushes towards the computer, knowing how dangerous Scourge is.

The princess then speaks into the mic,

"Nicole! Send word to Sonic that we need him back at the HQ immediately! It's an emergency!"

"Understood, Sally." Nicole acknowledged.

 **Back in New Megaopolis…**

"Everybody clear a path for our red friend! He needs to talk to the lady in charge!" Sonic yelled.

Knuckles, with the help of his teammates, is able to avoid all the infantry and get to Lien-Da's egg mobile. He then channels the chaos force in order to levitate up to

her.

"Kommissar." he stated.

Lien-Da frowns,

"Guardian..."

"Lien-Da, there's no reason for us to fight anymore. Just leave the Eggman Empire and give the Dark Legion the chance at peace they deserve. Do the right thing, like

your ancestors before you would." Knuckles advised.

Lien-Da blows off his advice and states,

"My ancestors never knew what was best for us and neither do you, so stop trying to make amends with me. You've done more than enough for all of us"

"Listen, working for Eggman will only make things worse for you and the others! You're all expendable to him and he'll keep using you until every last echidna is

gone! Please, end this now while you still can!" the echidna pleaded.

Lien-Da continues to ignore Knuckles and radios in with Snively,

"Snively! Where are those reinforcements I asked for earlier?!"

"There are no reinforcements! You're the standing army now!" Snively yelled through the comm.

She growls loudly,

"Dark Egg Legion! Fall back! We've lost this position!" she ordered while flying away.

Knuckles hovers back down to the ground, landing between Sonic and Julie-Su with an exasperated grimace,

"I don't get it… Why won't she listen to me?"

Julie-Su puts an arm around him,

"She was never much of a listener, hon... Never much of a sister too, now that I think about it."

Sonic smiles and put a hand on his rival's other shoulder,

"You'll get through to her eventually, Knux. I have a feeling she'll be more open minded once we finish Robuttnik off for good. Now stop brooding so much. That's

supposed to be Shadow's job."

"Alright! This sector is now secure!" Vector cheered before turning to Julie-Su.

"How's our second team doing, 'Su?"

"Let me check in with them... Saffron, do you read me? How are you and the boys doing?" the pink echidna asked through the microphone on her cybernetic dread.

In the communications outpost, Charmy and Ray are seen putting their last few explosives all over the interior.

"We hear you, Julie-Su! We're done setting all the charges in this tower." Saffron reported.

"Excellent work, you guys! Now get out of there quickly and meet us at the rendezvous point." Julie-Su ordered.

"Yes, ma'am! Come on, boys!" Saffron yelled.

The female bee scouts ahead and spots Lien-Da approaching in the distance with the Dark Egg Legion behind her.

Saffron became scared and quickly radios in with Julie-Su again,

"U-Umm...Julie-Su? I-I don't think we'll be able to meet with you guys! Lien-Da is coming right towards the tower as we speak! We're going to need back-up!"

"It's okay, don't panic! You three just sit tight! We're on our way!" Julie-Su reassured.

Espio started getting worried,

"Are the others alright?" he asked.

Julie-Su shakes her head,

"Apparently, Lien-Da is retreating to the communications outpost. Saffron and the others need us there **_now_**."

At this moment, Sonic receives Nicole's message on his wrist communicator,

"And that's not a good thing. I just got an emergency message from Nicole telling me that Sal and the others need help back at the HQ."

Knuckles smirks,

"Then go ahead and leave, True Blue. We've got everything covered here."

"Yeah, these goons aren't that tough!" Mighty agreed, pounding his fists together.

"Cool. Then I'll see you all back at New Mobotropolis! Later, Chaotix!" Sonic yelled. He waved good-bye and dashed in Freedom HQ's direction.

After that, the Chaotix start running until they get to the outpost Lien-Da was approaching. As they run, an egg-shaped ship flies past them.

Vector glances at the ship with confusion,

"Reinforcements already?"

Knuckles was confused as well,

"No, it can't be. Snively told Lien-Da that there were no reinforcements at all."

At the communication outpost, Lien-Da and her Dark Egg Legion surround tower.

"Kommisar, a ship approaches! Snively must have answered your request!" one of the infantry points out.

Lien-Da turns her Egg-Mobile towards the egg-shaped ship,

"Hmph! I guess Snively lied to me then."

The ship opens up and Dimitri steps out with a giant, robotic, insect-like body that his tentacles had been plugged into.

"Snively had nothing to do with it, grand-daughter. I came on my own accord to ensure the safety of my people. I will not let you lead them to failure. As of right now

I'm taking control of this operation. Do you understand?"

His words made Lien-Da seethe in anger,

"Yes…sir." she complied reluctantly.

Dimitri turns towards the army of legionnaires and gave a small speech,

"Hear my words, Dark Egg Legion! We must protect this outpost at all costs! It is a very crucial part of Robotnik's city! Do not hesitate to fire at Knuckles and Julie-Su!

They are the enemies! Now stand with me, and together we'll drive the opposition away!"

All of the legionnaires cheer in agreement.

Knuckles and the Chaotix watch the army from uphill as they prepare an attack.

Everyone was dead serious with the exception of Vector.

The crocodile instead, had a wide grin,

"Looks like it's time to get our hands dirty once more, Chaotix. We can't let their numbers intimidate us. We've got this!"

The others seemed to lighten up a bit, but Knuckles and Julie-Su were still frowning. They hate that they're forced to fight against so many of their own kind.

 **At the Great Wastes (Formerly known as Knothole)…**

Sonic is mere seconds from reaching Freedom HQ and soon skids to a stop in front of the door.

"Alright. Time to see what's going on." he said.

The Blue Blur kicks the door open,

"Did anybody call for a blue hedgehog?!"

"Thank the walkers! Sonic, in here!" Sally yelled from the computer lab.

Sonic rushes into the computer lab and sees the Freedom Fighters on one side and the Suppression Squad on the other.

"'Bout time you showed up, wuss. We were just about to start the party without you." Scourge said, leaning against the star posts with a sinister grin.

Sonic goes up the green hedgehog, growing his own cocky grin,

"I'm assuming this is your scheme to take over our base. Right, Scourge?"

Scourge pointed a thumb at himself,

"That's "King" Scourge to you, Sonic."

"Ha! King of what? King of being dense?" the blue hedgehog jested.

Scourge kicks Sonic, knocking him away slightly,

"King of Moebius, you dork!"

Sonic gets a kick back on Scourge's arm,

"Oh, I get it. So that makes you a royal pain."

The Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad watch the two hedgehogs rumble in the middle from opposite sides.

"No, it makes me superior! Remember what you told me a while back?" Scourged asked.

"I've said plenty of things to y-oww" Sonic starts but gets interrupted by Scourge's punch to his chest.

"You told me that we're the same dude at the end of the day. That all it would take for either of us, would be to lean a little in the other direction." he explained,

landing another punch on Sonic's face and then grabbing him by the neck.

"What you said made sense... you got me thinkin', 'if he's the Hero of Mobius, then what does that make me'?"

The green hedgehog flings Sonic at the Freedom Fighters as he continues his rant,

"So I went back to my zone and conquered the whole stinkin' planet in a couple days. Now I'm not just you're "evil twin" anymore, Blue. I'm Scourge, King of a bold

new Moebius, and your world is gonna fall to my Suppression Squad."

Sally helps Sonic up and the Blue Blur grins at his other faker,

"Dude, it doesn't matter what you do. You're still just a lame recolor in the long run. Now beat it while you still can, 'cause you're messing with the Hero of Mobius, and

the Freedom Fighters!"

"We're not goin' anywhere! Suppression Squad! Attack!" Scourge ordered.

Both teams charge at each other and then clash. However Rotor couldn't fight since he was still injured from Boomer's sonic cannon blasts.

Sonic handled Scourge, Sally handled Alicia, Tails handled Miles, Antoine handled Patch, Bunnie handled Boomer, and Amy handled Fiona.

Miles swings his tails multiple times, trying to knock Tails over,

"The way you follow that blue cretin is sickening. You're nothing but a lapdog."

Tails dodges his attacks and spin-dashes straight into his chest, slamming him against the wall,

"I may look up to Sonic, but I can hold my own just fine."

Antoine and Patch are about to engage in a saber duel.

"Sur ses gardes, scélérat." Antoine snarled, gritting his teeth.

Patch's evil grin appeared,

"L'amener sur!"

Boomer is trying to blast Bunnie with his sonic cannons.

"Tell me, Boomer. Why would ya give up bein' flesh n' blood?" Bunnie asked, dodging both Boomer's cannon shot and his follow-up punch.

"Why wouldn't I? These cybernetics have made me much more powerful!" he answered as he tries smashing her.

Amy is busy fighting a very conflicted Fiona, swinging her hammer multiple times with rage.

"I can't believe you! First you betray the Freedom Fighters, and now your own world?!" Amy screeched.

All Fiona did was continue dodging, being reluctant to fight back,

'This is terrible! What am I supposed to do now?! If I reveal our plan here, then Scourge will maim me and the others! I have no choice but to stay loyal until I can find

a way to talk to Sally or Sonic privately…' she thought.

Rotor watches everybody fight from the chair next to Nicole's monitor.

The walrus was furious,

"Ugh...I feel so useless right now. I want to help, but those slams against the wall dislocated something in my back."

Nicole glanced at her friend with a sympathetic smile,

"We'll find a solution to your back problem once this is over, Rotor. I promise."

Scourge and Alicia charge towards Sonic and Sally from both sides. The royal couple stands back to back, getting ready to switch opponents as a surprise move.

Sally smirks,

"Sorry to call you back so soon, Sonic."

"Don't sweat it, Sal." Sonic replied.

Sally then jumps towards Scourge and Sonic spin-dashes underneath her.

"We had everything wrapped up, anyways."

Sonic hits Alicia with the spin-dash, knocking her against the wall and Sally had intercepted Scourge in the air with a hard kick to the chin. Her kick caused him to bang

his head against the ceiling.

"That's good to know. As you can see, we really need you here."

Sonic's smug smile appeared,

"Heh, as usual." he teased.

The princess nudges his shoulder,

"Watch the ego, mister." she teased back, causing her partner to chuckle.

The Blue Blur stops moving and turns towards Sally,

"But seriously, the Chaotix should be alright. Those Dark Egg troops are total pushovers."

 **New Megaopolis, at the communication outpost…**

Knuckles and the Chaotix look down at Dimitri and his legion as they surround the tower that Charmy, Saffron, and Ray were stuck in.

"Saffron told me that Charmy and Ray had all the explosives set up. We have to get those three out of there, fast." Julie-Su reminded everyone.

"Indeed, we must be swift. Is everyone ready?" Espio asked.

"You bet we are!" Mighty cheered.

"Alright, Chaotix! It's time to-" Vector started but was cut off by a yelling Dimitri.

"Guardian, why do you persist on attacking this former metropolitan? You have already done a significant amount of damage to Robotnik's city as Enerjak. Are you not

satisfied by that?" he asked.

Knuckles freezes up, not knowing what to reply with.

"It might not be his fault entirely, grandfather. Maybe he's just following the Republic of Acorn's orders like a good little servant." Lien-Da said.

"Excellent point, my grand-daughter. All of Angel Island's enemies have been demolished because of your time as Enerjak, yet you remain here. It seems that you are

rather rapacious." Dimitri lectured.

The red echidna finally snaps,

"Don't you dare try and paint me as the bad guy! You're the one that sold out our people to Robotnik!"

Dimitri scoffed,

"I grow tired of these family arguments! I've had to deal with bickering over **_who_** started **_what_** for hundreds of years! I will not tolerate it anymore! Dark Egg Legion!

Fire!"

Dimitri and his legion fire a barrage of laser blasts at the Chaotix, forcing the group to jump behind cover.

Vector stared at Knuckles, who still had seemed troubled,

"Knux, I know you're still upset about all that Enerjak jazz... but these dudes pledged their allegiance to Robotnik. Right now, Ray, Charmy and Saffron still need our

help. They're more important and so is our mission."

Knuckles tried to pull himself together, reminding himself that his friends are in danger.

He smirks faintly,

"Okay, let's finish this job and save our team."

Vector grins and punches the echidna's arm playfully,

"That's the Knux I know!"

The crocodile then turns to his team,

"C'mon, Chaotix! It's time to clean house!"

All of them jump from their cover and down towards the outpost, ready to fight.

 **Back at Freedom HQ…**

Scourge recovers from hitting his head on the ceiling but Sonic hits him with another spin-dash.

"Keep up the pressure team!"

The green hedgehog became extremely agitated as he picked up his crown,

"Suppression Squad! If you don't step your game up right now, I'm gonna beat you down and make sure you'll never walk again!" he threatened.

All of the Suppression Squad members were shaking in fear. They immediately attack the Freedom Fighters all at once, hoping to please their king.

"For ze king!" Patch yelled.

Tails and Miles grapple yet again.

"This time you're going down, charlatan!" Miles threatened.

"You're the one that's going down, poser!" Tails replied.

Sally confronts Alicia with a smirk on her face,

"What happened, Alicia? Did you get removed from your throne?"

"It's none of your business! Besides, I could care less about my title." Alicia answered, taking out her spare whip and wrapping it around Sally's arm.

"Another whip? I don't think so." Sally said.

The princess activates her yellow ring blades once again and cuts the whip up.

Her doppelganger became furious,

"So that's what you used to destroy my electric whip… Whatever, I always did prefer fisticuffs!" she yelled while throwing a punch.

Elsewhere in the lab, Antoine and Bunnie were hiding behind some computer panels, taking a breather.

"Okay, Sugar-twan. Ah think we should switch dancin' partners for a lil bit. You take Boomer and ah'll handle Patch." Bunnie suggested.

Antoine had a bitter scowl,

"Non. Patch ees mine."

The coyote tries to stand up, but was held back by his wife,

"Wait a sec, Antoine. I know everything he's done to the both of us, but you can't get caught up in revenge."

Antoine grabs her organic hand,

"Eet's not revenge, ma chéri. He ees responsible for mon père's death and nearly ruined the integrity I worked so hard for. I cannot allow him to harm you too." he

reassured.

Patch and Boomer unfortunately hear Antoine's last sentence and separate the two by surprise.

Patch's grin grew broad,

"I like ze way you think, my pathetic twin."

While Boomer holds down Antoine, Patch prepares to slit Bunnie's throat.

Thankfully, Sonic stops them both in the nick of time with a spin-dash,

"Nope, not happening creeps!"

Scourge gets a surprise spin dash on Sonic,

"Gah!" he yelled, falling on his back.

The green hedgehog laughed as he towered over the Blue Blur,

"You don't get it, do you, Blue? I'm king now, so you kneel to me!"

"Leave him alone!" Amy shouted, jumping towards Scourge with her hammer.

Scourge intercepts Amy in the air with a kick to her chest,

"Get outta here, ya nut! I don't need another stalker!"

"Ah, Amy!" Sonic yelped.

The Blue Blur trips Scourge and jumps up to catch her,

"You alright? That was a pretty hard hit." he asked.

Amy had a livid expression,

"*cough* I'm fine. I'll be sure to make him pay for that kick."

Tails flies towards Amy with her hammer,

"You dropped this, Amy."

The rosy hedgehog smiles and takes her hammer back,

"Thanks, Tails."

She then immediately went after Scourge.

'This is getting outta hand. I hope the Chaotix are having an easier time than we are.' Sonic thought.

 **At New Megaopolis…**

The Dark Egg Legion is failing to hold the front line as their numbers dwindle little by little.

"Mighty, Vector! You're with me! Let's tear that scrap heap of Dimitri's apart!" Knuckles yelled.

The two teamates follow the echidna and jump onto Dimitri with him. Knuckles smashes both arms off of the insect body while Vector tears the spine and abdomen

apart. Finally, Mighty destroys all of the mech's legs.

"Snively, we're getting flanked right now! Tell Eggman to send us any support he has left!" Lien-Da snarled.

"There's no one left! You're the standing army at the moment! It's your problem now!" Snively scolded through the comm once more.

Espio throws shurikens at Lien-Da's egg-mobile and Julie-Su follows up with a laser blast, causing Lien-Da's ship to erupts in flames and fall to the ground.

"Saffron, do you read me? You and the boys are clear!" Julie-Su ordered.

Saffron, Ray, and Charmy fly out of the tower and Saffron presses the detonator, blowing the outpost to kingdom come.

"Damn it! We've lost! Dark Egg Legion, retreat to the inner city, now!" Lien-Da commanded.

"We'll be better prepared for you next time, guardian." Dimitri growled before retreating with his grand-daughter.

Knuckles looks at his team, smiling proudly,

"Now that's what I call a grand slam! Way to go, Chaotix!" he cheered, wrapping one arm around Julie-Su.

"We should return to Freedom HQ quickly, Knux. Remember that there's still trouble happening over there." Julie-Su said.

 **The brawl continues in Freedom HQ's lab and the fighting was beginning to cause a lot of collateral damage…**

This upset Sonic and making him clench his fists,

"I'm getting **_real_** close to losing my cool. This battle is wrecking the lab and we just finished patching things up from the invasion."

Tails had an anxious expression,

"We aren't making any progress, either. Everyone is too evenly matched."

Sonic yells out to Sally,

"Yo, Sal! We could really use a plan of action!"

The princess had her own look of irritation,

'This is getting us nowhere. We need to regroup with the Chaotix.' she thought.

"Everyone, fall back to the hallway!" she ordered.

Everybody follows her through the door, with Bunnie helping Rotor out.

"Bunnie, can you put a force-field on that door? We need some extra time." Sally requested.

"Ah sure can." Bunnie confirmed, changing her arm into a force-field generator and aiming it at the lab's entrance.

Sally faces the others,

"Listen up, Freedom Fighters. We're falling back to New Mobotropolis."

Sonic's eyes widened,

"Huh?! You're kidding, right?"

"I'm kidding wrong. We need to rally with the Chaotix and organize a different plan of attack." Sally answered.

The Blue Blur crosses his arms and turns his head stubbornly,

"No way! We're not leaving this place behind!"

Sally lets out an annoyed sigh and jabs a finger into his chest,

"Sonic, if we perpetuate this fight, then Freedom HQ will get torn apart! The strength of the Supression Squad is too similar to our own! Not only that, but Rotor is

injured and can't even defend himself! We **NEED** to fall back!"

Bunnie starts getting antsy and peaks behind her,

"Are y'all done yet? The shield ain't gonna last much longer."

Sonic closes his eyes and growls,

"Fine!" he agreed begrudgingly.

Boomer shoots his sonic cannons, pushing Bunnie back. The cyborg rabbit along with Amy and Antoine all exit out the front door with Tails flying Rotor out shortly after.

"Sonic, let's go!" Sally yelled before leaving the HQ.

Scourge comes out of the lab with a triumphant grin,

"What's wrong, wuss? You scared of fightin' this 'lame recolor'?"

Sonic glares at Scourge from the HQ's entrance,

"This is only a temporary loan, jerk. I'll be back to collect your rent." he snarled before closing the door.

"Hahaha! That's what I thought!" Scourge yelled.

Fiona looked like she was about to cry,

'There goes my only chance of escaping from this maniac...' she thought.

Outside, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters start making their way to New Mobotropolis and end up bumping into the Chaotix halfway there.

Knuckles glanced at the battered Freedom Fighters with concern,

"What the heck happened to you guys?!"

"We've been ambushed by Scourge and his Suppression Squad. They managed to get here from Anti-Mobius using our star-posts." Sally answered.

Julie-Su notices Rotor was slumped on the ground,

"What wrong with Rotor?" she asked.

Rotor was staring at the ground,

"Something in my back got dislocated, so I can't really fight right now. If I didn't get hurt, I would've been able to provide the extra muscle we needed to take Scourge

down…"

"It isn't your fault, Rotor. They had the element of surprise on their side." Sally counseled.

"So, is Freedom HQ lost?" Vector asked.

"Yes, unfortunately…" Sally answered, crossing her arms defensively and averting her eyes to the side.

Sonic frowned and shook his head,

"No, it's not. Scourge and his cronies are just sleeping over. Tomorrow, we'll be back to kick them out."

 **The next morning...**

Sonic had been told by his parents that he was needed for a council meeting at Castle Acorn. The hedgehog was still angry about losing Freedom HQ and wasn't in the

mood for what he considered, "stupid politics". He was tired of not being able to do what he wants, feeling like he needed the council's approval for everything. So

instead of preparing for that dumb ol' meeting, he went to the Lake of Rings.

He sat at the edge of the water, staring at his reflection with a face of disappointment,

'This week blows… and just when it was looking so promising, too. Even though we lost Knothole… we were able to move to New Mobotropolis, the city

we've fought to win back ever since we were kids. We had also finished fixing all the damage to Freedom HQ, and we have Eggman on the ropes.' he thought.

The Blue Blur changed his expression to an annoyed one,

'Then my lame double got the jump on my friends and took over the old hide-out. Why does something always have to-'

His thoughts were interrupted as his ears flick upwards. There was someone approaching him from behind.

"There you are." said a female voice.

He turns his head and sees his girlfriend, Sally Acorn, smiling at him.

"I was wondering where you disappeared to. Come on, Blue. We have to go to Castle Acorn for the council meeting."

Sonic frowns and turns back towards the lake,

"Pshhh, I'll pass."

Sally crosses her arms and frowns as well,

"Sonic, you know it's mandatory to show up."

"I don't care. It's gonna be a waste of time even if I go." he argued.

His response caught the princess off guard. He rarely gets this upset. She walks over to her grumpy partner and sits down next him.

"And why is that?" she asked.

Sonic, still frowning, shifts his eyes towards her and then back at the lake.

Sally was starting to get worried. She can sense the angry aura that surrounds the hedgehog, and it was bothering her.

The chipmunk sweeps her legs underneath her and snuggles up to him, placing both hands around his arm,

"Sonic... don't be like this. Tell me what's wrong."

Sonic finally answers,

"You know what's wrong, Sal. We just finished patching up the HQ and then Scourge had to come and wreck the place. Now he's the one calling the shots there."

"We'll get Freedom HQ back. There's no need to pout about it." Sally reassured.

Sonic growled softly,

"I'm not pouting… it's just..."

he broke off and looked into Sally's eyes with his own sad ones,

"Freedom HQ is like a second home to us. It's where we **_became_** Freedom Fighters and it's the only thing that survived the invasion… it irks me that Scourge is there

doing whatever he wants."

Sally's expression became more considerate,

"I know how you feel, Sonic. Freedom HQ means a lot to me, too. But if we want to get it back, then we need a better plan. And we can't do that without the council's

approval."

Sonic glared at Sally,

"They're not gonna listen to us."

"You don't know that. If we explain what happened, I'm sure they'll understand the gravity of the situation. Please, give them a chance... for me?" the chipmunk

pleaded.

The Blue Blur looks at his reflection in the water once more, thinking for a few more seconds,

"Fine. I'll go." he muttered.

Sally smiles at Sonic and gets up with him.

"I **_really_** hope you're right about them, Sal..."

"Don't worry, Sonic. They'll hear us out."

They both walk back to the castle, hand in hand.

 **At Freedom HQ…**

Scourge and his Suppression Squad had just woken up and gathered in the lab. Scourge was trying to access the computer there but he was locked out by Nicole.

The hedgehog turns to Boomer,

"Hey, c'mere ya nerd. I need you for somethin'."

Boomer growls and complies, sauntering over to his superior,

"What is it… my liege?"

"I gotta feelin' this thing has some valuable info that we can use. Think you can hack into it?"

Boomer rolls his eyes and takes a minute to analyze the computer,

"I can do it, but it's going to take some time. From what I'm seeing here, there's an extremely advanced AI that's preventing us from accessing any data."

Scourge frowns with crossed arms,

"Time, huh? Alright, I'll give you time. I need every advantage I can get if I'm gonna conquer this planet quickly."

The tyrant grew an evil grin afterwards,

"So I expect you to finish this by the end of the day. If you don't, there'll be major consequences."

Boomer starts sweating nervously,

"I'll get started right away then."

Fiona is smiling at Scourge, trying to maintain her facade,

'The way he treats us is disgusting. I wish I had the chance to talk to Sally or Sonic. They were my only ticket to freedom and now... I'm still trapped with this

psychopath…' she thought.

Soon, a knock is heard from the front door causing Scourge to smirk.

"Heh. Looks like the wimp decided to show up early."

Miles opens the door and sees that it's actually Metal Sonic,

"Your majesty? There's something here to see you." he reported.

Scourge walks out the door with a huge grin and hands on his hips,

"Well, would ya look at that. A robot Sonic!"

"It's Metal Sonic, rodent." said a familiar voice from the robot.

"Wait a sec... I recognize that voice. Your Eggman, aren't you?" Scourge asked.

Eggman was speaking through Metal Sonic,

"Indeed I am, but who are you? You're not Sonic."

"Nope. I used to be Evil-Sonic, but not anymore. I kicked the real Sonic and his pack of dorks outta here yesterday. I was told that he ran back to his little city." Scourge

answered.

"I see... If that's the case, then I'll just attack you! Why pass up the opportunity to eliminate another Sonic?!" Eggman yelled.

"Huh?!"

Metal Sonic starts to rushing towards Scourge, who was bracing himself.

 **Meanwhile, in Castle Acorn's Council Room…**

"Whaddaya mean no?!" Sonic yelled.

Sally places a hand on his shoulder,

"Easy, Sonic."

"Robotnik is our first priority right now. We've made major progress in his city and are close to toppling his empire. We should be focusing our attacks on him. We can

get Freedom HQ back later." Hamlin protested.

"You guys don't know what Scourge is capable of! The dude conquered his entire planet in a couple of days!" Sonic argued.

Rosemary gives her thoughts,

"That may be true, but our world is different. Scourge won't be able to take over our planet as easily."

Elias speaks,

"All in favor of leaving Freedom HQ for now?"

Everyone, except Rotor and Uncle Chuck, votes "yeah".

Sally herself couldn't believe the council had ignored her own input.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. But the council…"

Elias gets interrupted by Sonic storming off,

"Rrrrr, I knew this would be a waste of time! I'm outta here!"

"Sonic, wait!" Sally yelled.

Sonic ignores her and dashes out of the room.

The princess closes her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh.

Everybody clears the room except Sally, Uncle Chuck, and Rotor. The three go to the balcony instead.

"Are you alright, Sally?" Uncle Chuck asked.

Sally looked concerned,

"I haven't seen Sonic this upset in a while, Sir Charles…"

"Just give Sonny some time. He'll cool off." the elderly hedgehog reassured.

The chipmunk frowns slightly,

"I hope he does. I don't want him to do something stupid."

Rotor speaks up,

"I understand his frustration, though. Scourge is definitely a bigger threat than Eggman right now. The other council members don't understand how powerful he is."

The princess takes a deep breath and nods in agreement,

"He **_is_** a bigger threat, which is why we need a good strategy. The Freedom Fighters can't go head to head with him and his Suppression Squad... so we need some

sort of advantage…"

Sally breaks off and enters a thinking pose. After ten seconds, she comes up with something,

"Rotor, are you able to build another set of star posts?" she asked.

Rotor thinks for a second too,

"Yeah, I can. If Sir Charles and Tails help out, we can finish making a couple by the end of the day."

"I'd be glad to help. Sonny told me how dangerous Scourge is and I trust his word." Uncle Chuck agreed.

Rotor became a little worried,

"What about the council's decision? Don't get me wrong, I'm totally with you both, but… we can get into some major trouble."

Sally smiles,

"Don't worry about that. You two just go get Tails and start working on those star posts. I'm going to have a long talk with my brother."

 **On his way towards the New Mobotropolis exit, Sonic spots a troubled Knuckles sitting alone on a bench.**

He goes towards his friendly rival and stops next to him,

"Sup, Rad Red. Everything cool?"

Knuckles looks at Sonic,

"I'm fine I guess... What was the council's decision?"

Sonic, with his arms crossed, frowns and averts his eyes to the side,

"They told us to ditch Freedom HQ…"

The echidna jumped to his feet in shock,

"What?! That's absurd!"

The hedgehog smirks,

"Glad you agree. Wanna come with me to take it back?"

"I don't know, True Blue…" Knuckles answered.

Sonic places a hand on Knuckles shoulder,

"Knux, I know you're still feeling bummed about your dad and the echidnas. I think busting some heads will help you clear your mind a bit."

Knuckles gives Sonic a serious look,

"You know what… I do want to blow off some steam. Let's go."

The hedgehog's smirk widened,

"Cool."

They both leave the city and head for the HQ.

 **Uncle Chuck's Diner, ten minutes later…**

Mighty, Vector, and Espio were having lunch.

As they continued to feast, Julie-Su angrily struts into the restaurant.

Mighty smiles,

"Hi, Julie-Su. How are…"

He stops speaking after seeing Julie-Su's angry demeanor.

"Are you okay? You look frustrated." Mighty asked.

"Because I am. Have any of you seen Sonic and Knuckles?" the pink echidna asked back.

Vector shrugs,

"Sorry, 'Su. We haven't seen 'em either."

"Just great! We have a meeting soon and they're supposed to be there!" Julie Su yelled.

Vector raised an eyebrow,

"What're you talkin' about? I didn't hear about no meeting."

Julie-Su sighs,

"I got orders from Hamlin. He told me that we're all supposed to meet at the airfield for a mission briefing."

Espio speaks up,

"A mission for New Megaopolis, I presume?"

The female nods,

"We need to be there in twelve minutes."

Vector gives her a reassuring smile,

"We getcha 'Su."

Mighty smiles as well,

"Yeah, just hang with us in the meantime. I'm sure Sonic and Knux will show up soon."

Julie-Su sits next to Mighty and crosses her arms,

"They better show. If you thought I was hot-head, you haven't seen Hamlin when he's angry…" she muttered.

 **Back outside of Freedom HQ…**

Metal Sonic and Scourge were going at it.

Scourge tries spin dashing into Metal Sonic's chest but the robot catches him and slams him into the ground.

Fiona tensed up in fear as she watched,

'This is the last thing we needed. If we don't help him out, he'll probably hurt us.' she thought.

"Suppression Squad, let's go!"

Scourge glared at his team,

"No! I can handle this myself! Don't interfere, or else!"

Miles and Fiona close their eyes halfway and smirk at each other,

"If you say so." they both muttered.

Sonic and Knuckles finally arrive on the scene, and see that the scuffle has already started.

The Blue Blur smirks at the red echidna beside him,

"It seems Eggman beat us to the party. I'll handle my other faker while you turn Metal Sonic into scrap."

Knuckles pounds a fist into the palm of his other hand,

"Works for me. I just want to punch something."

Metal Sonic towers over Scourge, which prompts him to try and kick him off but his foot gets caught instead.

At this moment, Sonic spin dashes his robot doppelganger off the green hedgehog,

"Nuh-uh, I got dibs on Scourge."

Fiona sees Sonic and grows a hopeful expression,

'He came back. Oh, thank goodness. I might be able to talk to him." she thought.

Scourge tackles Sonic,

"I had everything under control, Blue! I don't need your help!"

Sonic kicks Scourge off him in response,

"Who said anything about helping you? I'm here to kick you and your gang out. Your rent is past due." he jested.

"Knux, Metal is all yours!" Sonic yelled.

Knuckles jumps in and attacks the robot,

"This thing better give me a good fight."

Robotnik greets the echidna,

"Well, if it isn't Knuckles. Long time, no see."

Knuckles throws a punch which grazes Metal Sonic,

"I didn't come to chat, Eggman. Now put 'em up!"

Knuckles goes for a spinning hook (Megaton Hook) and hits Metal Sonic in the face, denting his cheek.

"What are you doing Metal Sonic?! Use your speed to overwhelm him!" Eggman yelled.

As the echidna continues fighting the robot, the other two hedgehogs are locked in CQC.

"Y'know, the more I look at you, the more ticked off I get. You could've been a hero just like me, but instead you chose to be a scumbag." Sonic said.

Scourge growls and punches his good counter-part in the chest,

"And what does heroism get you?"

Sonic tries to get up but Scourge kicks him in face and grows huge grin,

"I'm the king of an entire planet! Folks may smile and wave at you here. But on my planet, everybody bows to me! And those who don't, get wiped out!"

The Blue Blur cringed,

"You're insane!"

Meanwhile, Knuckles is stuck in a defensive stance as he blocks Metal Sonic's fast punches. Metal Sonic finds an opening, getting a hard punch in Knuckles' gut and

uses both of his hands to slam the echidna into the ground. The robot then starts running circles around him, scoring some punches here and there.

Knuckles growls loudly,

'This thing is moving way too fast! I can't react with my eyes... so I'm going to have to rely on my other senses instead.' he thought.

He closes his eyes and feels a familiar energy emanating from Metal Sonic's core,

'It's running on a power ring. I can feel it!' he thought.

Knuckles throws a left hook and gets a direct hit on Metal Sonic's chest, cracking it a little.

"What?! How did you-" Eggman yells but is then cut off by the smirking echidna,

"I can feel the power ring energy Metal Sonic is running on, so it doesn't matter how fast he goes. I can sense exactly when he's going to strike."

Eggman snarls,

"That's ludicrous! Metal Sonic, keep attacking him! I'm sending reinforcements now!"

Sonic uses a tornado attack to throw Scourge off balance but Scourge counters it with his own tornado.

"I can do this all day, Blue!" Scourge yelled.

Sonic shakes his head in frustration,

'This fight isn't going anywhere. Scourge keeps matching me blow for blow. Damn it, Sal. Why do you always have to be right...' he thought.

Suddenly, a metallic green ball comes out of nowhere and hits Scourge in the back of his head. Then Metal Sonic manages to grab Knuckles and tosses him at Sonic.

When the three get back to their feet, they see Metal Sonic and a new Metal Scourge standing side by side.

Sonic had a face of disbelief,

"Oh, c'mon. We just can't catch a break."

"What do you think of my newest creation, Sonic? Beautiful, isn't it?" Eggman jested.

 **From the Egg Dome's computer lab, Doctor Robotnik spectates the battle between his Metal Sonic robots and their three opponents.**

"Alright my wonderful creations, grind those rodents into dust! Show them no mercy!" Eggman cheered.

Dimitri enters the lab but Robotnik is too distracted to notice of course.

"Doctor, the Dark Egg Legion needs extra support to continue our push against the Freedom Fighters. I demand to know why you haven't built anything to

supplement us."

Eggman didn't hear a single word Dimitri said,

"Yes! Whack the hedgehog on the head again!"

Dimitri tries to stay patient,

"Doctor."

Eggman finally turns to him,

"What do you want?! I'm busy here!"

"Doctor, the Dark Egg Legi-"

Robotnik interrupts Dimitri and waves him off,

"I'll deal with the Legion later. Now shoo!"

Dimitri loses his patience and aggressively wraps a tentacle around Eggman's left arm,

"I must remind you that the Legionnaires are some of the last echidnas alive. I will not allow you to use my people carelessly."

Eggman's sinister grin appears and he forcefully removes the tentacle from his arm,

"You seem to misunderstand, Dimitri. All of your people's lives belong to me and I plan on using all of them until none remain."

He then shows a detonator to the echidna,

"See this little device here? It's a detonator, for all the explosives placed in the cybernetics I supplied to the Legion. Now, be a good little subordinate and leave me to

my work. Complain again, and I won't hesitate to pull the trigger."

Dimitri was completely frozen,

"I…I" he started but then stopped and turned away.

"As you wish, Doctor."

 **Back outside of Freedom HQ…**

Things are getting intense. Knuckles continues to fight Metal Sonic while Sonic himself has to deal with Scourge and his robot twin.

Metal Scourge knocks both hedgehogs away with a spin kick, flinging them both through one the HQ's wall and leaving a big hole.

Sonic gets back up and looks at the damage with a scowl,

"This is going from bad to worse."

The Blue Blur faces his double,

"I hate to say it, but I think we need to form another temporary truce, Green. Unless you wanna let those bucket of bolts destroy the HQ."

"Whatever..." Scourge agreed.

They both spin dash into Metal Scourge, cracking one of it's eyes and denting its chest.

Knuckles gets a hard left hook on Metal Sonic, breaking an arm off.

He smirks,

"As long as you have that power ring, I'll be able to counter any attack you go for. So give up while you still can."

Metal Sonic attacks once more and Knuckles breaks a leg off.

"You never learn, do you?"

As the fight continues, the others remained in Freedom HQ. Boomer is still trying to hack into the computer remotely by using his laptop while Fiona and the others

watch the battle from the hole that was just created.

Fiona herself looked distraught,

"We're never going to escape from Scourge if this keeps up. I really wish there was a way I could talk to Sonic or Sally so I can explain everything..."

Right next to her, stands Miles in deep thought.

The red vixen stared at him,

"Miles, do you have something in mind?"

Miles thinks for a few more seconds and answers,

"I think there's another way to escape, but only temporarily..."

Fiona raises an eyebrow,

"Okay...and?"

Miles looks back at her,

"If we can get Scourge to send us on a mission of sorts, then we'll be alone for a short amount of time. It might be long enough for us to seek out the Freedom

Fighters."

The female fox face palms,

"Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that? It's so simple."

"Perhaps it is because you lack the intellect that I have." the younger fox replied.

Fiona pouts,

"Excuse me?"

Miles smirks,

"I jest, I jest. Regardless, I know exactly what mission we can force him to send us on."

Alicia crosses her arms,

"Spit it out already, Miles. What mission?"

"Hold on, Alicia." Miles replied.

He walks up to Boomer,

"How much progress have you made on hacking the computer?"

Boomer looks down at the ground in frustration,

"To be honest… not that much. This A.I. is too tough to crack. Scourge is definitely going to thrash me hard..."

"No, he won't. Trust me." Miles reassured.

 **In the Egg Dome's barracks…**

Lien-Da is seen commanding the other echidnas to get ready for another assault.

Dimitri comes downstairs and over to Lien-Da, quickly grabbing her with one of his tentacles,

"Lien-Da, come with me for a moment."

Lien-Da frowns,

"What's the meaning of this grand-father?"

Dimitri uses his other tentacles to scan Lien-Da's cybernetics,

"The Doctor wasn't lying. There are explosives."

Lien-Da gave him a confused look,

"There's a bomb?"

"In all of us, I'm afraid." Dimitri confirmed.

Lien-Da's face distorted into a furious grimace,

"This is all your fault! You're the one who came to Robotnik first!"

Dimitri frowns,

"No, I came to the Doctor for an ally against Enerjak. You're the one who sold the Legion to the Eggman Empire. All for your accursed cybernetics."

Lien-Da changes her expression to a worried one,

"Then what do we do, grand-father? Surely you're not thinking of turning to the guardian at this point?"

Dimitri, with a face of consideration, places a tentacle on Lien-Da's head,

"No, I'm not. But I promise I'll think of a way to fix this, Lien-Da. These are some of the last of my people and you are the only family I have left."

 **Back outside of Freedom HQ…**

Knuckles has broken both of Metal Sonic's legs and his left arm.

"Last chance, tin can."

Metal Sonic ignores the echidna's threat again and shoots a laser directly out of his chest. Knuckles dodge rolls out of the laser's radius and charges towards Metal

Sonic. He winds up a powerful punch (Deep Impact) and hits Metal Sonic in the neck, causing it to finally explode. Knuckles then looks to the side and sees that the two

hedgehogs have Metal Scourge pinned down.

He joins them both with a smirk on his face,

"Metal Sonic is out of commission, True Blue."

Sonic smirks back,

"Good job, Chuckles. Now let's wrap this up with a triple spin dash combo."

The three nod in agreement and they slice through Metal Scourge multiple times, destroying the robot for good.

The Blue Blur cheered,

"Finally! That dragged on way longer than it needed to."

"Yeah, I'm totally beat right now." Knuckles agreed.

Scourge grins at his two enemies,

"So, you wanna try kicking me and my Suppression Squad outta the HQ?"

Both heroes frown at Scourge,

"Not after that workout, Green." Sonic said before changing his expression back to a smirk,

"But we'll be back, so don't get too comfy."

At that instant, the two take off for New Mobotropolis.

Scourge laughed,

"You better run! Nobody can take the king down!"

Fiona glares at the "king",

'Oh, yes we can." she thought.

 **Back in New Mobotropolis…**

Sonic and Knuckles find the Chaotix waiting for them near the entrance of the city.

"Look everybody! They're over there!" Vector yelled.

Julie-Su struts over to both of them angrily,

"Where did you guys go?!"

Sonic puts one of his hands out and looks at Julie-Su with a disappointed expression,

"We tried to take Freedom HQ back and failed..."

"We were supposed to meet at the airfield! Because of you two not showing, Hamlin chewed us out!" Julie-Su yelled.

Knuckles, feeling guilty, spoke up,

"I'm sorry 'Su. I'm really messed up right now and I needed to clear my head a little. I thought fighting with Sonic would help me deal with losing my father, but… it

didn't."

Julie-Su scrutinizes her soulmate, trying to find any sign that he might be lying. She finds nothing, though.

The pink echidna sighs and grabs Knuckles hand,

"It's okay, Knuckles. We'll work on it together. But don't you ever ditch us like that again."

Vector cuts in,

"You two are lucky that the council changed their decision. You'd both be in some hot water otherwise."

Sonic's eyes widened in surprise,

"Wait, are you serious?!"

Mighty speaks up,

"He's not joking, Sonic. After Sally went into more detail about Scourge, they decided to vote again. The only ones who voted against it were Hamlin and

Rosemary."

The armadillo then points towards Castle Acorn,

"Actually, Sally and her brother are waiting for you right now in the council chamber."

Sonic smiles,

"Then I better get over there. Thanks for the info."

The hedgehog dashes towards the castle and heads straight for the council chamber.

Sally and Elias were waiting for him just like Mighty said. Both were smiling for some reason.

"It seems our guest has arrived, sis." Elias said.

Sonic's smirk appears,

"Sup."

"I'm sure the Chaotix told you the news?" Elias asked.

"Yep, and I'm glad you all came to your senses." Sonic answered.

The king raises an eyebrow,

"So, may I ask where you went?"

The hedgehog pouts,

"I went with Knuckles to try and take Freedom HQ back, but it ended up being a total bust."

This made Elias glare at the Blue Blur,

"Why would you do that? You do know that if the council hadn't changed their vote, you would've been arrested for treason, right?"

Sonic places both hands on his hips,

"I know, but I don't care. Nobody is gonna tell me what I can and can't do if I'm in the right."

Elias sneers at his sister,

"I don't understand how you two have managed to be in a relationship for so long."

Sally sauntered over to Sonic with her own smirk and put an arm around him,

"What can I say? The man fights for he believes in. What girl wouldn't love that?"

The tongue-in-cheek statement made the hedgehog chuckle.

"Anyways, the Council of Acorn has decided that you will take lead on the next big mission." Elias said.

Sonic started to look confused,

"What's he talking about?"

"Just come with me." Sally answered.

The couple starts walking, heading for the Science Center.

While strolling along, Sonic stared at Sally curiously,

"I'm surprised you didn't chew me out, Sal. I thought you'd be mad at me."

"I was at first, but after thinking about it more, I started to understand why you'd be so angry." she replied.

"Still, I'm sorry for storming out like that. I didn't mean to ignore you." Sonic said.

Sally kisses the hedgehog's cheek,

"No hard feelings, Blue."

They enter the Science Center and Sonic spots Tails, Rotor, and Uncle Chuck setting up a new set of star posts.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"Since Scourge invaded our zone and took our head-quarters, I thought we should do the same." Sally explained.

The Blue Blur immediately turned his head back towards her,

"Does that mean…?"

"Yep. Tomorrow morning, you and Tails are invading Moebius." the princess confirmed.

Sonic grinned,

"Awesome!"

 **Back outside of Freedom HQ, evening…**

After leaving Sonic and Knuckles, Scourge heads back to the HQ to see Boomer's progress on the main computer. The Suppression Squad watches carefully as he

makes his way towards the cybernetic walrus.

Scourge looks at Boomer and grins,

"Time's up, nerd. Have you finished hackin' into the computer or what?"

Boomer starts to sweat,

"Not yet, your highness. I only need a couple more-"

Scourge grabs Boomer by the neck before he can even finish his sentence,

"I toldja what would happen if you didn't finish by the end of the day."

Boomer was terrified and he braced himself for Scourge's beating.

Fiona steps in though,

"Stop, Scourge! He doesn't need to hack the computer!"

Scourge puts Boomer down and turns towards Fiona with a frown,

"You tryna tick me off too, Fi?"

Fiona's expression instantly changed to a scared one and she raises her hands defensively,

"N-no, not at all! It's just… you said you wanted to conquer this world quickly, right? And that you wanted any advantage that you can get?"

"Yeah." Scourge answered.

"I have an idea that can help you do that." Fiona insisted.

Scourge folds his arms,

"Hurry up and tell me then. I'm not in a patient mood."

The female fox let out a sigh of relief,

"From what I've heard, New Mobotropolis has a lot of amazing technology as well as some useful information about this planet. I was thinking... if the Suppression

Squad can distract the Freedom Fighters, I can infiltrate their city and steal everything they've got."

Scourge looks up at the ceiling and thinks to himself,

"Yeah… That sounds good… real good."

He focuses back on Fiona,

"Alright, Fi. We'll go with your plan."

Scourge then glared at the still terrified Boomer,

"Looks like it's your lucky day, chump. You're goin' with Fi and the others to help steal that tech tomorrow mornin'."

Scourge's points to everyone else,

"Just know that if you all come back empty handed, you're gonna wish you were never born." he threatened before leaving the room.

Everyone had scared looks, except for Fiona and Miles. They were instead smirking at each other.

'All according to plan.' Fiona thought.

 **The next morning, at the New Mobotropolis Science Center…**

Rotor and Tails are getting ready to activate the secondary star posts while Sonic, Sally, and Amy wait beside them.

"Yo, Rote. Have you rigged this thing to send us to Moebius or what?" Sonic asked.

Rotor was a little distracted trying to put the coordinates into the star posts,

"Yes, I have. But there seems to be an issue."

Sally felt skeptical,

"What is it?" she asked.

Tails finishes tinkering with the right star post and answers Sally with a worried look,

"We can't figure out where the star posts will drop us off. It's completely random where we end up on Moebius."

Sonic smirks,

"Is that all? That ain't a big deal, lil bro. That only means we'll have to improvise on the spot."

"If you say so." Tails muttered back while he and Sonic put on their backpacks.

Amy approaches Tails and hugs him,

"Good luck on your mission, Tails."

Tails smiles and hugs her back,

"Thanks, Amy."

Sonic puts an arm around the young fox,

"Okay, bud. Time to head to Moebius and find a way to reverse Scourge's invasion."

Sally put her hands behind her back and tilted her head to the side, giving the duo a warm smile,

"Be extra careful, you two. There's a good chance that you'll run into trouble over there."

Sonic's smirk grows larger as he walks over to his companion,

"You worry too much, Sal. Me and Tails'll be fine. We always have each others' backs!"

"You got that right, Sonic!" Tails agreed.

The princess rubs the back of her head and shifts her eyes to the side,

"I know, I know. I can't help but worry, though. You two don't know what could await you on Moebius. I'm sure things have changed quite a bit since Scourge took

over."

The Blue Blur smiled in response to Sally's timid behavior. He found it cute. The hedgehog has always known that the princess tended to prioritize others' needs first

before her own. And to worry about other's more than herself. Sometimes it gets on his nerves, but he overall admires it. Especially since there are moments where

he can be the same.

Still, he felt the need to ease her anxiousness. And he knew exactly how.

The Blue Blur grabs both of the chipmunk's hands and says,

"Y'know, I don't say this often enough, but... I love ya, Sal."

Sally pauses for a bit after hearing what Sonic said. His sentence caught her completely off guard. She very rarely hears the hedgehog utter those three words. In fact,

the last time he flat out said it was when she had been awoken from her coma (Issue 50). After that, she was always the one who said those words to him and he'd

always respond with, "Same here","Me too", or "Ditto". This, however, never offended her because he would always **_show_** that he loved her through actions, and that

mattered more. Hearing him say the three words was still music to her ears, though.

She smiled back at the hedgehog, wrapping her arms around his neck,

"I love you too, Sonic."

Sonic hugs back and continues speaking from her shoulder,

"If you and the others need us back here, contact me through my transceiver and we'll be back in a Sonic second."

Sally separates from him and smiles at Amy,

"I'll be sure to remember that. Though I think we can handle things here."

Amy's Piko Hammer appears and she gives Sonic a tenacious look,

"Sally's right, Sonic. If anyone tries to mess with us, I'll smash their face in!"

Sonic chuckles at Amy's determination and gives her a thumbs up,

"That's the spirit!"

The star posts activate, causing revolving red stars to appear and form a portal,

"Everything's good to go, Sonic." Rotor announced.

Sonic and Tails stand side by side in front of the portal,

"Alright, T2. Let's do it to it!"

Tails gave the Blue Blur a confident smirk and they both jump through the portal.

 **Moebius, Knothole Village…**

Sonic and Tails step out of the portal and take some time to check their surroundings. Their confident smiles disappear as they look around, turning into faces of

disbelief at what they were witnessing. The village has been burnt down and there were a few motionless Moebians on the ground. Actually, there was absolutely no

movement anywhere. It felt like a ghost town.

"Woah… this is-" Sonic started.

"Terrible…" Tails finished.

Sonic looks around some more and he spots one hut that didn't get torched,

"Tails, that place over there is still intact. Let's check it out."

Tails had a fearful expression,

"Okay."

They both speed over to the hut and stop. The duo takes a minute to examine the home carefully.

Sonic recognizes the hut, causing his eyes to widen,

"No way… this is Scourge's crib. That means we're in Knothole." he said.

Sonic turns his attention to Tails, who was looking at the ground with a frown and small tears.

He places a hand on Tails' shoulder, changing his expression to a concerned one,

"Tails? You okay, buddy?"

"No... I'm not. If Scourge's home is the only one standing, then that means **_he_** did this. That's the only explanation that makes sense. He hurt all these people, and

destroyed their homes. He's… he's a monster. We have to stop him, Sonic… we just have to…" Tails answered.

The hedgehog froze up,

'He's right. Why would Scourge's joint be the only one standing? It can't be a coincidence.' he thought.

He focuses back on Tails,

"Hey… hey, look at me."

The young fox slowly lifts his head, his sad eyes met with Sonic's.

"We _**will**_ stop him, lil bro. Trust me. Remember that that's why we're here. We're looking for something to throw that creep off his game."

Tails nods in compliance making his "big bro" smile softly,

"C'mon, let's get outta here and start searching."

The fox stopped the hedgehog from moving,

"No, not yet. We should check to see if anybody survived here."

"Everyone here is gone for good, Tails... Let's just focus on the mission, alright?" Sonic replied.

Then the duo hears a faint voice in the distance,

"Is…s-someone there..."

The two waste no time making their way to the source of the sound and eventually stop in front of a female Moebian squirrel who was barely holding onto life. Her

purple nightgown had a bunch of cuts and she was heavily bruised. The lower half of her body was trapped under a bunch of debris.

Sonic and Tails don't say a word and help her out quickly, removing all of the rubble.

Tails leans down to her with a sympathetic look,

"Are you alright, ma'am?"

She smiles weakly at the fox, barely keeping her eyes open,

"I've b-been... better, but... th-thank you…"

"Who did this to you? Who's responsible for all this?" Sonic asked.

"A… g-green hedgehog… and his... gang…" she answered.

Hearing this made the Blue Blur want to punch something,

'So Scourge **IS** responsible! I knew he was messed up, but this… this isn't cool. The fact that this dude is another version of me only makes it more sickening. I could

never imagine myself doing something this... horrible." he thought.

Tails continued questioning the squirrel,

"Are there any other survivors, besides you?"

The squirrel tears up,

"N-no… n-not here… the only... M-moebians left are at... K-kintobor's Hospital Tower…"

Sonic grows a hopeful smile,

"Then we better get over there and getcha the help you need."

"N-no… I w-won't... make it…" the squirrel declined.

Sonic picks the squirrel up carefully,

"Don't talk like that. I'm the fastest thing alive. I'll get you there in time."

The squirrel smiles faintly,

"I-I appreciate-" she closes her eyes before finishing her sentence and slowly goes limp.

Sonic and Tails eyes widen in shock,

"Ma'am? Ma'am?!" Tails yelled.

The hedgehog lays her down gently and checks for a pulse,

"Sonic... is she?"

Tails knew the answer by the sad look his friend gave him.

The Blue Blur stands up and takes a deep breath,

"Let's go to that tower she mentioned, Tails."

The young fox couldn't argue. He was too upset by what he just experienced. All he wanted to do was avenge the squirrel and everyone who had fallen in this village.

He didn't say another word, only responding with a nod.

 **Mobius, New Mobotropolis Science Center…**

The star posts have unexpectedly deactivated and Rotor was trying to get them running again.

Sally was tapping her foot with a worried look,

"Anything yet, Rotor? It's been thirty minutes."

Rotor was glaring at the star posts,

"Still nothing, Sally. I can't figure out what caused the red stars to disappear. I'm just glad the portal stayed open for as long it did."

Amy was concerned as well,

"But if the star posts don't work, then how are Sonic and Tails going to get back here?"

"I honestly don't know, Amy. Me and Chuck didn't think that far ahead. We sort of rushed to finish these star posts." Rotor answered.

The princess started to feel guilty,

"I'm sorry, Rotor. I should've given you more time, but I got caught up in the moment. Now because of my rash decision, Sonic and Tails are stranded on Moebius

with no way of returning."

Rotor smiles softly,

"Don't get bent out of shape yet, Sally. I'll think of something."

Nicole appears in the middle of all of them, looking troubled,

"Nicole? Is something wrong?" Sally asked.

"Um, have Sonic and Tails left already?" Nicole asked back.

"Yes, they departed thirty minutes ago. Why do you ask?" Sally answered.

"The Suppression Squad is currently waiting outside of the city limits." Nicole replied.

This made the chipmunk frown,

"Contact Antoine and Bunnie, Nicole. Have them meet me there."

The princess then turns to Amy,

"Let's go, Amy."

Shortly, the four Freedom Fighters find themselves outside of the city, facing Fiona and the Suppression Squad.

Amy grew a livid expression at the sight of the red vixen,

" ** _You_.** "

The other Freedom Fighters looked ready to attack but Fiona speaks up,

"No, wait! We didn't come here to fight you!"

"You expect us to listen to ya after double crossin' us?" Bunnie asked.

"I know you have every reason to distrust me, but I swear on my life I'm not lying this time." Fiona pleaded.

Amy growls,

"Forget it! I'll never trust you again! Especially after what you did to Tails!"

Sally was observing Fiona's body language and intervened,

"Hold on... Let's listen to what she has to say."

Antoine looked at Sally like she had two heads,

"Ma princesse, have you losted your brains?!"

The princess frowns at the coyote,

"No, Antoine. I haven't "lost my mind". If I have the option to resolve things peacefully, then I'll take it."

She focuses back on Fiona,

"Okay, Fiona. If you're not here to fight, then what are you here for?"

"I came here to offer a truce between our teams." Fiona answered.

Bunnie and Antoine looked confused but Amy and Sally are still frowning.

Sally raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms,

"I don't understand. First you leave us because you found the "hero life" boring, and now you want to work with us again? That doesn't add up. What's really going on

here?"

Fiona had an awkward expression,

"Look, it's... complicated… I don't feel comfortable talking about it. All I know is that if we team up with you and Sonic, then we can bring Scourge down."

The princess points directly at the fox,

"I'll consider it, but only if you give us more details. **_What_** made you change your mind?"

Fiona sighs in anguish,

"Alright... I'll start from when Scourge took me to his zone."

A sad look appeared on her face,

"When we arrived on Anti-Mobius, Scourge told me that he wanted to be more than just Sonic's twin and he believed that becoming king of the planet would make him

superior."

Fiona looked at the ground in shame and closed her eyes,

"I… I thought it was exciting, so I went with it... But then Scourge became absolutely merciless, and the way he went about things was psychotic. The first thing he did

was confront the Anti-Freedom Fighters about their names and looks."

Miles continues the story, looking sad as well,

"She is correct. Scourge was bent on making us something "more" then your evil counterparts. He forced us to take on new names and appearances and when we

refused, he beat us until we complied. He even started to abuse Fiona when he realized how disturbed she was by his actions. He wanted **_everyone_** to obey him.

Those who didn't were either beaten or killed. Once he was done conquering the plant, he renamed it "Moebius" and made himself king."

Fiona finishes the rest,

"But soon, he got bored, saying that conquering his planet was "too easy". So he had us steal Dr. Kintobor's globe posts so we could invade your zone. This is when I

realized that we could escape if we found you guys. But we had to continue playing along with Scourge's charade. At least until we discovered a safe way to talk to

you all privately. Today, we convinced him to send us to your city so we could steal your technology."

All the Freedom Fighters frown in response to Fiona's last sentence, causing the fox raise her hands defensively with a sheepish smile,

"Of course, we're not actually going to steal anything. We only told him that so we could escape from him and form an alliance with you."

"Mmmhmm...sure" Sally muttered sarcastically.

"I'm being serious." Fiona reassured.

"So you want us to help you overwhelm him?" Sally asked.

Fiona's expression returns to a melancholy one,

"Yes, please. We can't stand up to Scourge alone. He's too powerful, and if we go back now, he'll mutilate us for returning to him with nothing."

The princess takes a moment to think,

"I suppose it could work… our teams are evenly matched, and if Sonic was able to join us, our combined strength should be enough to defeat him."

She then puts her hand out,

"Alright, we'll assist you. Sonic isn't here right now, but Rotor is fixing our star posts so we can bring him back as soon as possible."

Fiona smiles and shakes hands with the princess,

"Thank you, Sally."

Amy squints at Fiona,

"I'm keeping my eyes on you, vixen."

"Ummm… okay…" Fiona replied.

Miles sauntered up to Sally,

"May I ask, if Sonic isn't here, then where is he?"

Sally raises both eyebrows,

"Sonic is on Moebius with Tails right now. But since our star posts stopped working, they both have no way of getting back here. That's why we're relying on Rotor to

repair them."

Miles smirks,

"I believe I have a better solution. While Scourge was sleeping last night, me and Boomer rigged your first set of star posts to be a bridge between this planet and

ours."

Sally turns towards the New Mobotropolis border,

"Nicole?"

Nicole projects a hologram of herself from the city's wall,

"Yes, Sally?"

"I know you still have access to the lab in Freedom HQ. Can you confirm Miles' story?" Sally asked.

Nicole closes her eyes and checks the state of the star posts at the HQ,

"Yes. Miles is telling the truth."

The princess looks back at the younger fox,

"Very well. I assume you have something planned?"

Fiona and Miles both smirk at each other,

"We do." they both said.

 **Moebius, outside of the Grand Forest…**

Sonic and Tails stop right before the forest entrance to look at Kintobor's tower in the distance.

"Oh, yeah. That's definitely the place. It sticks out like a sore thumb." Sonic said.

"I'll say. It's so beautiful compared to the wasteland we've been traveling on." Tails agreed.

Sonic smiles down at his best bud,

"Why don't we pay the good doctor a visit, lil bro." he jested, trying to lighten the mood a little.

The young fox answers him with a small smile and both of them race towards the giant tower until they stop at the entrance. The

two peek inside and saw how dark it was.

"It's almost pitch black. Seems like there's no one here." Tails said.

"Eh, maybe. Doesn't hurt to check, though." Sonic replied.

They start making their way down the hallway, passing by some strange paintings of chao and other things.

"I don't know about you Tails, but some of these portraits give me the mondo creeps." Sonic commented.

Tails was frowning at a picture of a fat man with a cone head. He had red eyes, an orange mustache, and a strange red body suit.

"I feel the same way, Sonic. This one over here is **_real_** creepy."

Sonic stood next to Tails and glanced at the portrait,

"Ugh… talk about ugly."

The hedgehog then examines the photo closer,

"Wait a minute. He kinda looks like-"

At that instant a camera spots them and an alarm goes off,

"Warning! Unauthorized personal detected on the premises! Commencing lock-down!" a robotic voice yelled.

"Oops! Guess we needed an invitation! C'mon, Tails! Let's juice on outta here!" Sonic shouted.

He and Tails run to the entrance, but when they get there they find out that the door is locked behind a steel wall.

'I guess this was the trouble Sal was talking about.' Sonic thought.

"No so fast!" a female voice yelled from across the hall.

Sonic turns to Tails with a serious expression,

"We got company after all, bud. You ready to go?"

Before Tails can answer, a blue Omega Unit comes at them with brute force. Sonic and Tails dodge to the side, causing the mech to crash into the entrance wall.

"Dr. Kintobor is definitely here." Tails said.

"He sure is! I was wondering when he'd build a bot." Sonic replied.

"We need to find him. He could have some important information on Scourge." Tails suggested.

Sonic smirks,

"That's what I was thinking, too."

The Omega Unit recovers from the crash,

"Oh, no ya don't! You ain't goin' anywhere near the doc!"

It shoots riot foam at the two heroes' shoes, preventing them from moving.

Tails cringes,

"Yuck! What is this stuff?"

Sonic looks down at his feet and raises an eyebrow,

"I don't have a clue. All I know is that it smells bad."

The Omega Unit towers over both of them,

"Ah think ah should end this quickly."

After saying this, Dr. Kintobor runs down the hallway and yells,

"No, Buns! Stand down! They aren't our enemies!"

The Omega Unit stops,

"Wait, they aren't?"

"Not at all. This is Sonic and Tails from the Prime Zone." Kintobor confirmed.

The Omega Unit breaks the riot foam that was trapping the duo,

"Sorry 'bout that. Can't see colors too well in this doohickey."

Sonic and Tails frown at the Omega Unit,

"Buns, huh? So that means you're Anti-Bunnie, right?" Sonic asked.

Buns opens the cockpit to reveal her face,

"The one an' only."

The two heroes stare at each other and shrug.

Sonic then walks up to the slim doctor and shakes his hand with a smirk,

"Appreciate the save, doc. We're here because Scourge and his Suppression Squad invaded our home. We were wondering if there's anything here that can swing

things back in our favor."

Dr. Kintobor adjusts his glasses,

"Hmm… That explains why I haven't picked him up on my radar lately... You have my deepest apologies, Sonic. Please, shall we continue this conversation outdoors?

The weather is so wonderful today."

 **Later, in the center of the Grand Forest…**

Everyone was sitting on their own benches near a flower field with a waterfall behind it.

"How did you manage to avoid Scourge's rampage, Dr. Kintobor?" Tails asked.

Sonic speaks up as well,

"Yeah, that's a good question. Considering how much this place stands out, I'm surprised he didn't trash it."

Kintobor smiles,

"Of course, allow me to explain. My hospital tower houses an invisibility force-field that prevents this forest from being detected. Any surviving Moebians have been

relocated here, where they're safe from King Scourge's ruthlessness."

Tails was bewildered,

"But that doesn't make any sense. If what you're saying is true, then how did me and Sonic find this place?"

The doctor changed his smile to a more confident grin,

"That's because my radar didn't pick up Scourge and his Suppression Squad. The invisibility only activates when they are nearby. I do this to conserve power."

Sonic and Tails smile at each other,

"Heh. Crafty guy, isn't he?" Sonic said.

"Definitely!" Tails agreed.

Sonic glanced at the doctor again,

"So, doc. Mind telling us how Scourge was able get to our dimension?"

Kintobor's confident smile completely disappears, being replaced by a shameful pout,

"I'm afraid that's my fault. While I was upgrading the tower's generator, his Suppression Squad managed to get inside and steal my prototype globe posts. They most

likely used them to invade your zone."

Sonic raised an eyebrow,

"Why did you build them in the first place?"

"I had hoped to search other zones for new medical techniques. I need something to heal Buns Rabbot. She's developed a disease known as N.I.D.S and everything

I've tried doesn't seem to cure her one bit." Kintobor answered.

Hearing this triggered a flashback in the hedgehog's mind. He remembers visiting the virtual creation of the Space Colony Ark with Shadow,

'That sounds similar to the story Gerald Robotnik told us. Maria wasn't the only one who was infected by this N.I.D.S thing after all.' he thought.

"Is that the reason why she's in robot armor?" Tails asked.

Buns stands up and frownns at the heroes,

"Yep. The disease spread rapidly and made it's way down mah spine, paralyzin' me. When Scourge found out, he kicked me to the curb and left me fer dead."

She then smiles at Dr. Kintobor and continues,

"Thankfully, the doc here took me in. He's the one who built me this suit and I wouldna' survived without 'im."

Tails smiles at the doctor too,

"Wow, that's an incredibly nice thing to do. I wish our Robotnik was as kind-hearted as you."

Kintobor smiles shyly,

"Oh, please. It was the least I could do. My Omega Care Unit prevents Buns' condition from progressing any further, as well as supporting her immune system."

The doctor then grows a sad look,

"Unfortunately, that armor is the only thing keeping her alive. Without it, she would not survive long. That is why I won't rest until she's completely healthy again."

Sonic smirks,

"Does this clunker have any cool weapons that can help us deal with my double?"

The doctor immediately frowns,

"No, I refuse to make any deadly weapons or build an army. The Omega Care Unit is only equipped with non-lethal weapons."

"So is there anything here that can give us an advantage over Scourge?" Tails asked.

Buns smirked,

"Ah suppose they could recruit you know who?"

Kintobor crosses his arms,

"Absolutely not! She's far too dangerous!"

"Nothing is too dangerous for us, doc. And we could use all the help we can get. Who is this girl Buns is talking about?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know if it's a good idea…" Kintobor mumbled.

"Please, Dr. Kintobor. Scourge and his Suppression Squad have taken over our main headquarters, and they can attack our city at any moment. We need any lead you

can give us." Tails pleaded.

Kintobor answers reluctantly,

"Her name is Rosy the Rascal. She **_hates_** Scourge and relentlessly stalks him. If you want to know where she is, my best guess would be at Castle Acorn. That was the

last place Scourge was seen."

Sonic smiles,

"Sweet!"

Kintobor turns to Buns,

"I want you to go with them, Buns. But before you leave, are there any tune-ups that the Omega Unit needs?"

"The bot's workin' just fine, doc. Ah'll protect the do-gooders." Buns answered.

The Blue Blur gives Kintobor a thumbs up,

"Cool. Then I guess we'll be on our way."

Kintobor had a worried look,

"But how do you two intend on getting home?"

"We'll use your globe posts, Dr. Kintobor. If Scourge was last seen at the castle, he probably set them up there." Tails answered.

The doctor scratches his head,

"Oh, I see... Then good luck to you, Sonic and Tails."

"Thanks for all the info, doc. Later!" Sonic replied.

Sonic and Tails speed off with Buns following closely.

 **Soon, at the entrance of Castle Acorn…**

Sonic and Tails look at the castle with disgust,

"What happened to the castle? It's a complete dump." Tails said.

"Do you even need to ask? Scourge probably wrecked this place too." Sonic answered.

"Not this time, boys. The castle has looked like this fer a looong while." Buns corrected.

Tails looked worried,

"I'm not sure how I feel about this, Sonic. What if this Rosy girl decides to attack us?"

"Don't be so paranoid, bud. She can't be that bad if she hates Scourge." Sonic reassured.

"Alright, enough stallin'. Let's just get in there." Buns told them both.

The three walk inside and soon start to hear singing. They follow the sound which led them all the way into the throne room. Sitting on the throne is a pink hedgehog

who looks similar to Amy when she was younger.

"Sonic, that's Anti-Amy!" Tails yelled.

The pink hedgehog yelled back furiously,

"Don't call me that! My name is Rosy!"

Tails immediately got scared, prompting Sonic to speak up,

"Er- nice to meet ya, Rosy. We heard that you hate Scourge and we were-"

Rosy interrupts him,

"Have you seen my Scourgey?! Where is he?!"

Sonic smiles with a raised eyebrow,

"Umm… yeah. He's on my planet and I wanna know if you could help us fight him."

"Oooooh, so that's where he ran to. That meanie has always been running from me. I thought it was because I was little, so I used the magic in a special ring to make

myself older. Now I'm a big girl with a big hammer and still Scourgey runs away." Rosy replied.

Tails gives Rosy an uncomfortable smile,

"S-so you'll help us?"

Rosy grinned as her hammer appears ,

"So you can have Scourgey all to yourselves?! I don't think so! I'm going to smash you!"

Sonic and Tails were both sweating,

"Okay, Tails. You were right. She's pretty bad." Sonic said.

"I told you so!" Tails replied.

 **Mobius, Freedom HQ…**

Scourge just woke up from his nap and went into the computer room to check the time. Apparently, it's been an hour since he sent the Suppression Squad on their

mission. He checks through the hole that was created yesterday to see if they were close by, but finds no one.

He became absolutely livid,

"What's takin' those idiots so long?! Stealin' some tech shouldn't take a damn hour!"

He then hears running in the distance and sees the Suppression Squad being chased by the Freedom Fighters.

Scourge grins,

"Finally!"

All members of the Suppression Squad jump through the hole one by one.

"So what did you manage to snag?" Scourge asked.

Fiona frowned,

"Nothing."

Scourge gets in Fiona's face and growls,

"Care to say that again?!"

Amy jumps through the hole and hits Scourge on the head with her hammer,

"She said she didn't steal anything, you psycho!"

Alicia pulls out her newly repaired electric whip and looks at Boomer, Patch, and Miles,

"Come on, you three! It's time to show our king what we really think of him!"

 **Moebius, Castle Acorn…**

Sonic and Tails jump back to avoid Rosy's hammer swing.

"What's your deal?! We don't want Scourge to ourselves! We came here so you could help us stop him!" Sonic argued.

Rosy swings at Sonic again,

"I don't care! Scourgey's a Sonic! You're a Sonic! I just want to smash Sonics!"

The blue hedgehog jumps up,

"Why me, though?! He's the Evil-Sonic! I'm the good one! The loveable one!"

Tails slices Rosy's hammer head with a tail swipe,

"She's not listening to us, Sonic! I think we should find the globe posts and get out of here!"

Rosy looked sad,

"Awww, you broke my hammer."

Her psychotic smile comes back and she makes another hammer appear,

"It's a good thing I have a bajillion more! EEE-HEE-HEE!"

Tails pouts,

"Now that's just not fair..."

Rosy tries to swing at Tails but Buns shoots riot foam at Rosy's legs,

"Don't worry lil' fella, ah'll protect ya."

Sonic frowns at the rabbit,

"What took you so long to act?"

Buns shrugs,

"Sorry. Ah kinda zoned out."

Sonic crosses his arms, sarcastically mumbling,

"Uh-huh… sure."

Rosy looks down at the riot foam and cringes,

"Ewww, this stuff is icky! Time to smash!"

The psychotic girl smashes the foam with her hammer.

"Y'see! This is why ah wanted real weapons!" Buns shouted.

Tails slices Rosy's hammer again,

"Hey! Stop that!" Rosy screeched.

"Sonic! Go find the globe posts! Me and Buns will keep Rosy busy!" the fox ordered.

Sonic looks at Tails with concern,

"You sure, T2?"

Rosy spawns another hammer and swings at Tails.

Tails dodges to the side and looks back at Sonic,

"Yes! I've got this! Just go!"

The Blue Blur nods and leaves reluctantly,

'I gotta remember that Tails isn't a kid anymore. He can handle himself...' he thought.

After searching for a short amount of time, he finds a small lab with the globe posts activated.

The hedgehog grinned,

"Aha, there they are! And they're still active too!"

Sonic analyzes them more closely,

"I guess I can take a moment to see what's happening back at the HQ."

 **Mobius, Freedom HQ's computer lab…**

Sonic steps through the portal,

"Home, sweet home. Feels great to be back."

Nicole spots Sonic from her monitor and smiles cheekily,

"Sonic! Thank goodness you're back!"

Sonic returns the smile,

"You betcha! Has anything happened since I was gone?"

The room shakes violently, startling the hedgehog.

"Fiona and the Suppression Squad have rebelled against Scourge. They've made a truce with Sally so they can drive him back to Moebius." Nicole explained.

The room shakes once more, causing Sonic to frown,

"And they've already started to rumble. I better get in there and lend them a hand. Keep the portal open while I deal with Scourge, Nicole."

Sonic runs to the door that leads to the hallway. He peaks his head out and gasps. The Freedom Fighters were bruised and on the ground, trying to get back up.

Fiona was frozen in fear, unable to fight Scourge. And the Suppression Squad was trying to dog-pile the green hedgehog, but he uses a tornado attack to blow them

all away.

"F%^&IN' TRAITORS!" Scourge cursed.

The green hedgehog elbows Alicia in the chest,

"I conquered a planet! An entire f$%^in' planet!"

He follows up with a spin kick, hitting Miles and Boomer,

"I fought Sonic **AND** Shadow to a stand still! And **YOU** jokers think you can take me out?!"

Scourge punches Patch in the face,

"You filthy back stabbers could've served the baddest king ever! But now, I'm gonna end you!"

Fiona finally gets the courage to attack but Scourge grabs her by the neck and starts to choke her,

"That includes you, Fi! I can't believe that you'd double cross me too! I thought you liked the idea of conquering the planet! You were gonna be my queen for f^&%s

sake!"

Sonic violently spin dashes Scourge in the face, knocking him into to the wall.

"Anyone with half a brain wouldn't wanna serve for a king as deranged as you!"

Scourge jumps back to his feet with a grin and immediately grapples with his double,

"I was wonderin' when you'd show, ya wimp. I was startin' to get bored of softening my knuckles on your team. 'Specially your girlfriend's face."

Sonic growls loudly.

 **Moebius, in the Castle Acorn Lab…**

Tails and Buns retreat into the lab with Rosy giving chase.

"Get back here, you squishies! I still want to turn you into mush!" Rosy yelled.

Tails had a frustrated scowl,

"This is hopeless! Every time we get rid of her hammer, she just spawns another one. And it's so hard to land a hit on her because of how slippery she is."

Buns was annoyed as well,

"Where in tarnation did that blue moron go?! My non-lethal weapons are doin' diddly squat and we could really use his help!"

Tails spots the globe posts in the corner of his eyes and points at them,

"He probably went through there to see what's happening at home!"

"Then get in there and tell 'im to hurry up! Ah'll handle lil' miss creepy!" Buns yelled.

Tails runs to portal and peaks his head through,

"Sonic! We need you back over here! Please, hurry up!"

Sonic and Scourge were still grappling but they get distracted by the yelling and look towards the entrance of the lab.

Boomer and Miles get up and grin mischievously,

"Quick, Boomer! Now's our chance! Execute the back-up plan!" Miles ordered.

Boomer blasts the two hedgehogs with his sonic cannons, sending them flying into lab. Then Miles kicks them through the portal, knocking them (as well as Tails) back

to Moebius.

"Bon voyage, hedgehogs!" he yelled.

Sally and the Freedom Fighters rush towards Boomer who is typing on one of the computer panels.

"What are you doing, Boomer?!" Sally asked.

"Stop!" Amy ordered.

Boomer laughs,

"No thanks. I'm shutting all the posts down manually. Scourge is Sonic's problem now!"

The star posts deactivate and the Freedom Fighters glare at Miles and Boomer.

Fiona was furious,

"That wasn't part of the plan, Miles!"

Miles smirks,

"You're the one who said that you wanted to escape from Scourge. I simply granted that wish. There's no need to be upset."

 **Moebius, Castle Acorn Lab…**

Tails with a concerned look, helps Sonic up from the ground,

"Are you alright, big brother?"

Sonic smiles softly at Tails,

"Just peachy, lil bro. How are you holding up?"

Before Tails can answer, they both turn their attention to Scourge.

He was on the ground with a livid grimace,

"I'm gonna kill 'em… once I get my hands on those traitors… they're gonna be beggin' for mercy…"

Sonic and Tails frown,

"We're not letting you harm anyone else, Green. I think you've hurt enough people. " Sonic corrected.

All three of them then hear loud coughing,

"Guys…*cough*... look out! I couldn't stop her!" Buns yelled.

Her armor was destroyed, leaving her completely exposed.

Sonic, Tails, and Scourge find themselves staring at Rosy the Rascal.

Rosy's psychotic smile grew wide,

"Scourgey! I'm so happy you're back! I've been saving an extra-special smashing for you!"

Scourge became distraught,

"How… I thought I got rid of you…"

"As long as you exist, I'll never disappear! EEE-HEE-HEE!" Rosy replied.

 **Mobius, New Mobotropolis, Hedgehog Residence, Evening…**

Nicole and Uncle Chuck visit Sonic's parents. They are worried about their son and requested that they come over. Bernadette and Jules sit close to one another on the

living room couch while Uncle Chuck and Nicole stand in front of them.

Both of Sonic's parents look extremely anxious,

"We're sorry to call you on such short notice, but we're so worried about our baby boy. He hasn't been home in four days and we don't have a clue where he is."

Bernadette explained.

Jules placed his hand on his wife's,

"Nicole, Sir Charles, can you tell us where our son is?"

Nicole gives the parents a sympathetic look,

"Why of course, Jules. But first, we need to explain what's going on."

"Go ahead, Nicole. We're all ears." Bernadette said.

Nicole nods,

"A few days ago, we were invaded by an alternate version of our world called Moebius. Sonic's evil twin, known as Scourge, used his own version of the star posts to

travel to our planet and raid Freedom HQ. With the assistance of his team, the Suppression Squad, they overwhelmed the Freedom Fighters and claimed the base."

Uncle Chuck frowns,

"Yesterday, Sally came up with a plan to counter-invade their planet and requested that we build a new set of star posts. With the help of Tails and Rotor, we

managed to finish the posts by the end of the night. It was this morning, that we sent Sonic and Tails to Moebius so they could find a way to drive those thugs back

home."

Bernadette looked even more distraught,

"Do the boys have a way of getting back here, though?"

Nicole looked down to the side with sadness and put a hand on her upper arm,

"Not at the moment, unfortunately. The Suppression Squad was less than fond of Scourge and they rebelled against him. We formed a truce with them so we could get

the upper hand, but they instead knocked both Sonic and Scourge back through the portal. After that, they deactivated the star posts… Now the portal to Moebius is

closed."

"So both of them are trapped on that awful planet?!" Bernadette asked.

Uncle Chuck answered her with a reassuring smile,

"Only temporarily, Bernie. Once the star posts are done cooling off, we can open the portal again and bring the boys back home."

Nicole grew a confused expression,

"The star posts have to recharge?"

Uncle Chuck turned to her,

"Yep. After the backup star posts shut off, me and Rotor decided to do more research. We found out that it takes an incredible amount of energy to form an inter-

dimensional portal, unless you have something to amplify it. That's why the secondary star posts stopped working. However, the portal made by the star posts at

Freedom HQ were being amplified by the globe posts from Moebius. Now that both are shut off, the star posts will need time to recharge."

Nicole raised an eyebrow,

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Sir Charles, do you know how long it'll take for them to finish charging?" Jules asked.

Uncle Chuck frowns again,

"I'm afraid I don't, Jules."

 **Moebius, Castle Acorn Lab…**

Rosy chases after Scourge while Sonic and Tails rush to Buns' side.

Buns was coughing violently,

"Blast it all! *cough* That lil brat smashed mah Omega armor into bits an' pieces!"

Sonic had a serious look while Tails looked more concerned,

"Are you going to be okay, Buns?" Tails asked.

"Not fer long. Without this here suit, mah disease will continue spreadin' like wildfire." Buns answered.

"Can't you back to the doc in time?" Sonic asked.

Bun frowns with her eyes half closed,

"No can do. Ah'm all out of power... Guess this the end off the road fer me, boys..."

Sonic pulls a power ring out of his backpack,

"No it's not!"

The blue hedgehog activates the power ring and places it on the Omega Unit, causing the energy to surge through the armor.

Buns face started to light up,

"Yah did it! Ah'm back at full power!"

Sonic smirks,

"Happy to help."

Buns returns the smirk,

"Ah can't believe ah'm sayin' this... but ah owe yah one, sugar."

The Blue Blur waved her off,

"It's no biggie. Now hurry up and get to the doc!"

"Will do! Later y'all! Be sure to get a hit on lil miss creepy for me!" Buns yelled.

At this moment, Scourge spots Buns trying to escape and spin-dashes Rosy in the face,

"Outta the way!"

He aims for Buns right afterwards,

"You ain't goin' anywhere, Buns! No one escapes the king!"

The spin-dash slices through the Omega Unit and destroys it, causing an unconscious Buns to fall down towards the ground.

"Buns!" Tails yelled.

Sonic immediately acts and catches her.

He then growls at Scourge,

"What's your problem?! Without that armor she won't be able to survive!"

Scourge shrugs with a grin,

"Who cares? She was _**supposed** _ to die when I kicked her out of my posse."

Sonic was about to snap but Tails smacks Scourge in the face with a tail swipe, knocking him away,

"Sonic, go take Buns to Dr. Kintobor! You're the only one fast enough to get her there before she's fully infected!"

The Blue Blur's eyes widened,

"Heck no! There's no way I'm leaving you alone with Scourge!"

Tails frowned at the hedgehog with small tears appearing in his eyes,

"We're not letting another person die! Now go before it's too late!"

Sonic looked down at Buns, who was starting to look pale.

He then looks back at Tails with a sad expression before taking off,

'Please be careful, lil bro.' he thought.

Rosy recovers from Scourge's spin dash and stares at Tails,

"Rosy, I know you hate Scourge, so can you **_please_** help me fight him. I'll let you have the final smashes if you do." Tails offered.

"That sounds like **FUN**!" Rosy agreed.

Scourge gets up,

"You two think you stand a chance against me? How cute."

Back with Sonic…

The hedgehog glances at his passenger and sees that her condition is getting worse.

'Oh, man. This is **_not_** looking good. I'm gonna have to book it.' he thought.

Sonic pulls out a second power ring and uses it's energy to go even faster.

'It's times like these that I wish I had a chaos emerald. They pack way more of a punch then a measly power ring.'

That's when Sonic had an epiphany,

'Wait! That's it! Moebius must have chaos emeralds too! If I can get my hands on one, then we can turn this fight around!'

In a few seconds, Sonic makes it to Kintobor's Hospital Tower and finds doctor in the front office,

"Yo, doc! We got an emergency here!"

Kintobor looked at Sonic and saw him holding Buns.

He instantly runs over to Sonic with a concerned expression,

"Buns?! Oh, no! We must get her into cryo-stasis immediately!"

 **Mobius, Freedom HQ Lab...**

The Freedom Fighters are glaring intensely at Fiona and the Suppression Squad.

A furious Fiona points at Miles,

"Stranding Sonic and Tails on Moebius was not a part of the deal, Miles!"

Amy, who's also furious, butts in before anyone else can say anything,

"Ohhhh, I knew it, I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust her! Once a liar, always a liar!"

Fiona raised her hands defensively,

"No, I wasn't lying! I actually wanted to help you guys!"

Sally crossed her arms and frowned at the red fox,

"You better explain yourself, Fiona."

Miles cut in,

"She's telling the truth."

All of the Freedom Fighters got confused.

Miles smirks in response,

"That's right. She had nothing to do with it. Me and Boomer were the masterminds. While we rigged the star posts last night, we planned to kick both hedgehogs back

to Moebius if the opportunity presented itself. Which it did."

"Like I said earlier, Scourge is Sonic's problem now." Boomer said.

Fiona stares at Sally anxiously,

"Please tell me that we can get the star posts running again."

Sally glared at the ground,

"Not without Sir Charles and Rotor."

Shortly Uncle Chuck and Rotor walk in with smiles,

"Here we are, princess!" Uncle Chuck said.

All of the Freedom Fighters smile back,

"Well, would yah speak of the devil." Bunnie said.

"I'm so glad you're both here. Are you able to reactivate the star posts?" Sally asked.

Rotor speaks up,

"We can, but it would take some time. The star posts have to fully recharge first."

Amy had a discouraged pout,

"Then how long do we have to wait for? Sonic and Tails are still trapped on Moebius and we don't even know if they're okay."

Uncle Chuck shrugs,

"I really don't know. It could be ten minutes or it could be an hour."

Alicia smirked smugly at the princess,

"I guess both of our teams are going to have to wait, sugar queen. I'm sure Sonic will have pummeled Scourge into the ground by the time the posts recharge."

Sally had a fierce grimace for a second but it quickly changed into a worried pout,

"I'm so worried about them, Bunnie. I hope they're safe."

Bunnie smiles sympathetically and places her organic hand on Sally's shoulder,

"They'll be alright, Sally-girl. Those two are always lookin' out fer each other."

Sally looks down guiltily and closes her eyes,

"I really wish I hadn't rushed Sir Charles and Rotor to make those star posts. If I'd given them more time, I'm sure they could've found a reliable way to bring Sonic and

Tails back."

Amy smiles, putting her arm around Sally,

"C'mon, Sally. Sometimes a plan just doesn't work out. Don't beat yourself up over the past. We should be focusing on what's happening right now."

Sally not knowing how to respond, simply smiles faintly and places her arms around both of them.

Fiona smiled innocently at the three,

"So… are we still allies?"

Amy frowns at Fiona, making her nervous,

"Yeah… I'm sorry for yelling..."

Fiona breaths a sigh of relief.

Amy points at her,

"But I'm still keeping my eyes on you."

Fiona smiled sheepishly and shied away,

"...I know."

 **Moebius, Kintobor's Tower, Intensive treatment center…**

Both Sonic and Doctor Kintobor are staring at the cryochamber that Buns was placed in.

"Is she gonna make it?" Sonic asked.

"Yes. Her disease won't progress as long as she's in that chamber. I'll thaw her out once I build a new suit of armor." Kintobor answered.

Kintobor then turns to the hedgehog and gives him an appreciative smile,

"Thank you so much for saving Buns, Sonic. I would have been devastated if I lost her."

Sonic smirks,

"No problemo, doc. It's in the heroes job description."

"If you need assistance with anything, just let me know and I'll be happy to acquiesce." Kintobor replied.

"Actually, there is something I wanna know. Can you tell me about the chaos emeralds on this planet?" Sonic asked.

The question seemed to make Kintobor uneasy,

"It's a rather dangerous topic. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah, I do." the hedgehog quickly answered.

"Very well... The emeralds on our planet are known as anarchy beryl and they are more powerful than chaos emeralds." Kintobor answered.

Sonic gives the doctor a puzzled look while raising an eyebrow,

"How are they more powerful?"

"The seven chaos emeralds from your dimension have more positive energy than negative energy, while anarchy beryl has the opposite effect. Because negative

energy is more unstable, any user of anarchy beryl would become extremely dangerous." Kintobor explained.

The Blue Blur's smirk comes back even larger and he slams his fist into his other palm,

"Sounds like the kinda danger we need! You know where I can find some of this stuff?"

Kintobor frowns,

"I've locked away all of the anarchy beryl that remains on this planet. They're in a place where no one can find them."

The hedgehog gave the doctor a critical look,

"Why would you do something like that? We could use their power to deal with Scourge."

"I did it because they are extremely hazardous in anyone's hands; Even yours. The power they wield may seem amazing at first, but prolonged exposure to their

negative energy could lead to serious injury or death." Kintobor answered.

Sonic enthusiasm faded into disappointment,

"There's always gotta be something... I guess I'm gonna have to find another way to deal with that poser."

Sonic starts walking towards the exit,

"See ya later, Dr. Kintobor."

"Farewell, Sonic." Kintobor replied.

The Blue Blur exits the building and dashes back towards Castle Acorn,

'Hang in there, Tails. I'm on my way back.' he thought.

Back at Castle Acorn…

Scourge and Tails are standing about ten feet apart from each other. Scourge had his smug expression while Tails had a serious one. He was heavily

bruised and Rosy was unconscious on the ground.

Scourge laughs,

"Gotta say, twerp. I'm impressed you've managed to cling onto life for this long."

Tails didn't say anything. He just glared at Scourge and gritted his teeth, thinking about all the terrible things he's done.

Scourge goes for a spin dash and Tails immediately reacts, slamming him into the ground with a downwards tail swipe (Tails Dunk). A hole was created and Scourge

digs through the ground. He pops up behind Tails and hits him with the spin dash, making the two tailed fox fly into the ground.

Scourge yawns,

"Alright, this is startin' to bore me."

The green hedgehog moves towards Tails with a shrug,

"I may as well put you outta your misery."

As soon as Scourge gets close, Tails kicks him the chest and follows up with a tail swipe, knocking the green hedgehog away.

"Still got some fight left in ya, huh?" Scourge muttered.

As Scourge is about to get up, Sonic enters the castle and spin dashes him into the wall. He then dashes towards his injured friend and leans down next to him.

"Tails?"

Tails raised his head up,

"Sonic, did Buns make it?"

Sonic smiled sadly at the young fox,

"I made it there just in time. She's cool now, lil bro. Both figuratively and literally."

Tails smiles back faintly after hearing this.

"You alright?" Sonic asked.

"I'm fine, Sonic. I told you I could hold my own." Tails answered.

The hedgehog pets the fox's head with a prideful smile,

"I'm proud of ya, big guy. I shouldn't have doubted you."

The fox softly groaned in pain,

"I do feel pretty worn out, though..."

Sonic chuckles,

"I can see that."

The Blue Blur takes out one last power ring,

"Here, use my last power ring. The energy should help you feel better."

As Sonic hands Tails the ring, he spots Scourge getting back up in the corner of his eye and frowns in response.

"I'll handle him, Tails. You stay here and rest for a bit."

Scourge growls and rubs his head,

"Nice cheap shot, Blue."

Sonic turns to Scourge with a confident grin and cracks his knuckles,

"What's wrong? Did I hit you too hard?"

Scourge growls and he charges a spin dash with Sonic doing the same.

 **Mobius, Outside of New Mobotropolis...**

After traveling for awhile Silver finally spots the city in the distance. As the white hedgehog gets closer, he reads his notebook full of research on the different Freedom

Fighter groups.

'Okay, I think I finally have my story down. I'm Ace from the Downunda Freedom Fighters. I'm a new recruit and was sent to help the Knothole Freedom

Fighters. Time to see if it works.' he thought.

Once Silver gets in close proximity of the city wall, the security activates and a force field prevents him from entering.

Nicole appears in hologram form and frowns at the uninvited guest,

"Who are you?"

Silver looked nervous at first but he regains his composure and states,

"My name is Ace from the Downunda Freedom Fighters. I was ordered to come here and lend some assistance to the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

Nicole gave Silver a skeptical look and decided to check her data logs.

After a bit of searching, she stops and frowns at him once again,

"I don't have any records of an "Ace" in the Downunda Freedom Fighter Group."

Silver's expression became serious,

"That's because I'm a new recruit. This is my first solo mission."

Nicole just kept glaring at Silver and crossed her arms, still not convinced by his story.

Silver anxiety quickly grew,

"Look, I really need to speak with the Knothole Freedom Fighters. It's extremely important. Can I **_please_** come in?"

Nicole observes Silver's expression more closely, seeing that he was telling the truth (about how important it was that he speaks with her friends specifically),

"They're not present at the moment."

"So they must be at Freedom HQ, right?" Silver asked.

"Correct." Nicole confirmed.

Silver grew an enthusiastic smile,

"Awesome! Thank you so much, uhhh…"

Nicole smiles as well,

"Nicole. And you're welcome."

Silver smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his head,

"Right… it was nice to meet you, Nicole."

Silver turned around and blasted off with his psychokinesis, surprising the holo-lynx.

Her skeptical look came back,

'There's something strange about that boy, but I didn't sense any malicious intentions from him. I suppose the extra help couldn't hurt.' she thought.

 **Central City, G.U.N. HQ, Shadow's Room…**

Shadow the Hedgehog is seen sitting in silence on a chair near his bed. His eyes were closed and he had his arms crossed. It's been awhile since he's had some time

to himself, so he decided to meditate.

Soon, Rouge walks in with her typical smirk and interrupts his peace,

"Hey, handsome."

Shadow opens one eye to look at Rouge and then closes it,

"I'm not in the mood, Rouge."

Rouge sighs,

"When are you ever?"

The bat sauntered up to Shadow,

"Commander Tower wants to see you."

Shadow opens both eyes and begrudgingly stands up,

"For what reason?"

"He wants you to travel to the Special Zone and collect a chaos emerald." Rouge answered.

Rouge then crosses her arms and grows a small pout,

"I don't know why he wouldn't want me to do it. I **_am_** a master jewel thief after all."

"Most likely because you'll just keep it for yourself." Shadow said.

Rouge felt insulted by his accusation,

"Keep it to myself? I would never…" she started but stopped after Shadow tilted his head very slightly and glared at her even harder.

"Okay, I probably would…" Rouge confessed.

"Hmph." Shadow responded.

He walks past Rouge and heads towards the science lab. Waiting for him is Hope Kintobor and Commander Abraham Tower.

Hope smiles at the hedgehog with her hands behind her back,

"Hi, Shadow."

Shadow smiles back at her faintly before saluting Commander Tower,

"Commander, you wanted to see me?"

The commander salutes back,

"Correct, Agent Shadow. I have an assignment for you."

Commander Tower places a hand on Hope's shoulder,

"Hope here, has built a machine that will allow you to travel to the Special Zone."

"I call it the Zone-Breaching Platform." Hope announced.

She leads Shadow to the machine,

"How does it work?" Shadow asked.

"It's real simple. All you have to do is stand in the middle of the platform. Once I put the coordinates in, the power of the green chaos emerald should be able to warp

you there." Hope explained.

Shadow looks at Commander Tower with a raised eyebrow,

"What do you need another chaos emerald for?"

"It's for you specifically, Agent Shadow. I know that they enhance your natural abilities and that would prove useful on the battlefield." Commander Tower replied.

"But we already have a chaos emerald." the black hedgehog reminded him.

"I know that. But G.U.N. HQ needs the green chaos emerald as a power source. That's why I want you to retrieve another one." the

commander explained.

"If that's the case then I'm ready to depart right now. Is the machine ready?" Shadow said.

Hope goes to the control panel,

"It sure is! Just stand on the platform like I said and I'll send you there."

Shadow does what Hope says as she puts in the coordinates,

"Good luck, Shadow." she said.

Shadow smiles faintly in response once again.

The machine activates and the hedgehog disappears in a green light.

 **Mobius, Outside of Freedom HQ…**

Silver stands at the door of the HQ, looking somewhat flustered to meet the Freedom Fighters.

He takes a deep breath,

"Alright, here we go."

He enters the base and goes down the hallway. He peaks into the computer lab to see a nervous Sally pacing back and forth while a bunch of others are standing still.

"Hello…"

Antoine, feeling paranoid, pulls out his saber,

"Who goes there? We won't be needing anymore trouble right now."

Silver stays calm,

"My name is Ace, from the Downunda Freedom Fighters. I was sent to help the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

Sally raises an eyebrow in suspicion,

"I don't remember the Downunda Freedom Fighters having a member named Ace."

"It's because I'm a new recruit and this is my first solo mission." Silver replied.

Sally was still suspicious but didn't want to assume this new guest was unfriendly.

"Do any of you know where I can find Sonic the Hedgehog? I'm supposed to report to him when I get here." Silver asked.

'I hope they buy this… If they find out who I am, it'll create a time paradox...' he thought.

"He isn't here. He's trapped in another zone right now." Sally answered.

Silver looked distraught,

"I don't understand. What do you mean he's trapped?"

Rotor speaks up,

"We sent Sonic and his friend, Tails, to an alternate version of our planet using those star posts over there. Once he was done handling business, he was supposed go

back through the portal the posts created."

Rotor then pointed at the Suppression Squad with a frown,

"However, they were shut off by these geniuses. And because of them, the star posts have to recharge."

"And that's why you're all waiting here…" Silver broke off and started to think.

The white hedgehog gets an idea and pulls out what looks to be a power ring from his bag,

"I think I can solve the problem."

Rotor looked confused,

"A power ring isn't going to do anything, Ace."

"This isn't a power ring. It's a super warp ring. It works like a normal warp ring except that it can also travel to different zones. I was told to use it only for

emergencies." Silver corrected.

Amy was starting to get impatient,

"Okay, and what do you plan on doing with it?"

"I'm going to transfer its energy to the star posts. I think that'll be enough recharge them." Silver answered.

"It's worth a shot. I say we let the boy do his thing." Uncle Chuck suggested.

Sally was even more suspicious of Silver, observing him with her hand on her chin,

'Where did he manage to get a more powerful warp ring? They originated from the echidnas, and Downunda isn't known for it's amazing technology. Even though he

has good intentions, something seems off about this person. Still, I won't say anything for now. If he can manage to reactivate the star posts, then that'd great. But I

might question him later.' she thought.

Silver walks up to the right star post and places one of his hands on it, while holding the warp ring in the other. He uses his body to transfer the ring's energy into the

star posts. After what seemed like thirty seconds, Rotor and Uncle Chuck look at the power readings; The posts were at one hundred percent power.

"It worked! The star posts are fully recharged!" Uncle Chuck announced.

Rotor gave Silver a thumbs up,

"Thanks, Ace. Because of you, we can reopen the portal and bring our friends home."

Silver grew a shy smile,

"It was nothing. Just glad to-" Amy interrupts Silver,

"We've waited long enough! Activate the portal already!"

Rotor jumped a little,

"Right away, Amy."

Uncle Chuck snickered at the walrus's reaction.

 **Moebius, Castle Acorn…**

The battle between Sonic and Scourge continues. Tails is healed thanks to the power ring, but he's still resting. Rosy had gotten up as well, and was watching the fight

from behind a column in fear of getting knocked out again.

Scourge lands a hard kick on the side of Sonic's head, sending him flying through one of the pillars. Sonic gets back up and rubs the bruise that he now had on his

head.

Scourge gave Sonic a disappointed look,

"I don't get you, Blue. You have so much untapped potential, yet you choose to waste it on bein' a hero. Why not join in on the fun and help me conquer your stupid

little planet? We can be twin, unstoppable kings and then rock the multiverse together. Whaddaya think?"

Sonic cringed while pointing at the evil doppleganger,

"You're sick if you think I'd actually consider that. Being a hero isn't a waste at all. Unlike you, I actually have something to lose. I got my friends, my family, and the girl

I love back home."

Scourge laughed,

"That's so touching! Still, it's not the answer I wanted to hear. Maybe you'll reconsider once I get rid of 'em!"

The last sentence made the blue hedgehog snap,

"That's not gonna happen! I'll make sure of it!"

Sonic and Scourge spin dash towards each other, but both stop when a green ball of energy appears in front of them. The green energy fades away, revealing Shadow

the Hedgehog.

"Shadow?" Sonic asked.

Shadow turns to him, looking confused as well,

"Sonic?"

"The hell are you doin' here?" Scourge asked.

Shadow frowns at Scourge,

"And Scourge..."

Sonic smirked,

"Boy, am I glad to see you."

Shadow crosses his arms,

"I take it that I'm not in the Special Zone?"

"Nope. You're on my planet ya chump." Scourge answered.

Shadow glared at Scourge again,

"Why is he wearing a crown, Blue Hedgehog?"

"This creep conquered his planet and made himself king. Now he wants to conquer our world next. Wanna help me rough him up?" Sonic asked back.

"...Sure..." Shadow agreed.

Scourge laughs again,

"It'll take more than you two to take down the king!"

"How about we lend a hand then?!" a voice yelled.

Tails and Rosy surround Scourge as well.

"Time to smash again, Scourgey!" Rosy threatened.

'Man, screw this! I can handle Sonic and Shadow, but even I'll admit that these other two will only make things harder.' Scourge thought.

The green hedgehog grinned,

'It's time to bust out my secret weapon!'

He races towards the throne room with Sonic and Shadow giving chase. Just before Scourge reaches the room's entrance, Sonic and Shadow both hit him with a spin

dash knocking him onto his throne. Rosy and Tails follow Sonic and Shadow through the entrance shortly afterwards.

"It's over, Scourge. Time to face the music." Sonic said.

Sonic then noticed the ridiculous amount power rings all around the room.

"It's far from over, Sonic." Scourge said, pulling out seven anarchy beryl.

Sonic's eyes widen along with Tails',

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, yes!" Scourge yelled back.

He absorbs the seven anarchy beryl and all three hundred power rings in the room, becoming Super Scourge,

"All hail the king, baby."

 **Mobius, Freedom HQ Lab…**

Rotor and Uncle Chuck have finally reactivated the star posts.

"Alright, it's good to go." Rotor announced.

"You all go on ahead. Me and Rotor will make sure the star posts stay online this time." Uncle Chuck said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Amy said before jumping through the portal with the other Freedom Fighters. The Suppression Squad entered as well, except for

Fiona, who was frozen with fear. She didn't want to face Scourge again.

Rotor frowned at her,

"Are you going to go Fiona? "

Fiona snaps out of it,

"Y-yeah. Sorry…"

She goes through the portal slowly.

Uncle Chuck raised an eyebrow,

"What's wrong with her? It looked like she saw a ghost."

Rotor scratched his head,

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, Sir Charles."

 **Moebius, Castle Acorn Throne Room…**

Scourge has turned super and he wastes no time to attack our heroes,

"This is gonna be fun!"

Before Scourge can attack, Rosy tries to strike him with her hammer multiple times, but it does nothing,

"No fair! You're not squishy anymore!"

Scourge grew a livid expression,

"I'm sick and tired of you!"

He grabs Rosy and violently throws her against the wall, causing the girl to lose consciousness yet again.

The super powered hedgehog then immediately goes after Shadow and Sonic with both fists out.

"You two are next!"

Both hedgehogs try to avoid the attack but were too slow to react, taking a hard punch to their faces. Sonic crashes through a pillar and Shadow lands right

next to Rosy. Scourge turns to Tails and kicks him in the chest, making the fox reel back, coughing and gasping for air while clutching his stomach.

In Castle Acorn's Lab Room…

Silver, the Freedom Fighters, and the Suppression Squad all come through the globe posts. The whole group took a moment to analyze their surroundings.

Bunnie was cringing,

"What'n tarnation happened to this place? It's a complete train wreck."

Alicia scoffed,

"It's been like this for a long time. Even before Scourge took over."

Amy cringed as well,

"Then you guys need to redecorate. This castle is disgusting."

Soon a huge crashing sound was heard and the ground shook intensely, startling everyone.

"It sounds like there's still a fight happening. Let's see what's going on." Sally suggested.

All of them made their way to the throne room and when they get there, they freeze up at the sight of Scourge in his super form. He was towering over Tails, who was

still coughing.

Sally looked extremely confused as well as scared,

"S-scourge has a… s-super form…?"

Silver recognized the purple hedgehog's glasses, leather jacket, and shoes from the news article he found in the future. His eyes widened in response.

Scourge grinned at the new visitors,

"Awesome! More weaklings to stomp on!"

But the hedgehog spots Fiona and his grin becomes a deadpanned frown,

" ** _You_** …"

In a flash, Scourge grabs her by the neck and stares her in the eyes,

"You never answered the question I asked on Mobius. Why would you side with these punks? You would've been my queen! You could've ruled over two worlds with

me!"

The red vixen was absolutely horrified at first, but the more she stared into Scourge's eyes, the angrier she felt.

Fiona finally snapped and her tears began to appear,

"Because you're a monster! A monster that used my past to convince me that being a villain was fun! A monster that abuses and kills innocent people just for kicks!

And a monster that hurt his own family!"

Scourge's expression remained unchanged and he said in a cold tone,

"...Sorry you feel that way, Fi…"

Shadow sees Scourge raise his hand and acts quickly, removing his inhibitor rings. He transforms into Chaos Shadow and hits Scourge with extreme force, knocking him

away from Fiona. Fiona lands softly on the ground and Scourge crashes through the castle wall, ending up outside. Shadow then uses Chaos Control to teleport a few

feet away from of him.

Scourge grinned at hedgehog who was now surrounded by a red aura,

"Nice trick. How 'bout I show you what I can do."

The tyrant laughs as he shoots a huge blast of chaos energy at Shadow. Shadow stood still with a smirk and took the blast head on.

He was completely unharmed by the attack, confusing Scourge,

"What?!"

"As long as I'm in this form I can absorb any amount of chaos energy. You're going to have fight up close if you want to do any damage." Shadow explained.

Scourge gritted his teeth angrily,

"That's fine by me!"

Scourge charges at Shadow, who is still smirking.

Back in the castle...

Sonic gets up slowly from the pile of rubble his crash created.

He spots Shadow's inhibitor rings in the corner of his left eye,

"Shadow tapped into the chaos force again..."

Sonic also sees that Tails is still hunched over, clutching his chest. He rushes over to him and helps him get to his feet.

He gave Tails an uneasy look,

"Tails? You cool?"

Tails coughed and shook his head,

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I can't *cough* fight anymore. I don't think I can take another kick like that…"

Sonic smiled sadly,

"It's alright, lil bro. You've helped out more than enough."

"Sonic, Tails!" Amy yelled.

Sonic and Tails look up and to the left to see their friends (plus Silver) running towards them.

The Blue Blur smiles,

"Hey, everyone!"

Sally came up to Sonic and embraced him gently,

"Thank goodness you're both okay."

"Y'all had us worried sick." Bunnie agreed.

Amy leaned to Tails height with concern,

"Sonic, what happened to Tails?"

"Scourge kicked him in the gut." Sonic answered.

"I think *cough* he might've cracked a rib, too." Tails added.

Silver cut in before anybody could speak and walked towards Sonic, who had just separated from Sally,

"So you're Sonic the Hedgehog?"

Sonic gave Silver his attention,

"Yep! Who's asking?"

"My name is Ace. The Downunda Freedom Fighters asked me to help you and your team. Tell me, who is that purple hedgehog?" Silver answered.

"That poser's name is Scourge and he's my evil twin. Normally he's green, but right now he's in his super form." Sonic explained.

Silver felt anxious,

"Does he by chance go by the alias, "Evil Sonic"?"

"He used to. But that was a like a month or two ago." Sonic confirmed.

Silver clenches his fists and grew a disappointed look,

'Mogul was right. I jumped to conclusions… Sonic isn't the traitor…" he thought.

"Sonic, how did Scourge transform into his super state? I thought you needed all seven chaos emeralds and fifty power rings to achieve that form." Sally asked.

"It's our fault…" Miles said.

The others turn to him,

"I don't know how he got the anarchy beryl, but Scourge had sent us to steal all of the power rings on the planet. The total amount we stole was three hundred but

we didn't know he was going to use them to transform..." Miles explained.

"Scourge *cough* pulled out seven anarchy beryl from his throne. I'm guessing he's been hiding it from you guys this entire time." Tails said.

"And if he absorbed all of those rings then that means his super state will only last for five minutes." Sonic said.

Miles looked terrified,

"We won't be able to last for five minutes! We'll all be dead by then!"

Sonic then remembered something and his ears flicked upwards,

"Nuh-uh. Not if me and Shadow can stall him for long enough."

Sally gave Sonic a worried look,

"But Sonic, you've explained to me in the past that even when you power down, you get an increase in strength. By the time his super form dissipates, you'll be

completely worn out and vulnerable."

Sonic smirked,

"That only applies to our planet, Sal. I talked with Dr. Kintobor about the way chaos emeralds work here. He told me that the chaos emeralds here run mostly off

negative energy, and that overusing their power can lead to death."

Tails spoke up,

"I get what you're saying, Sonic. Scourge is exposing himself to a ton of negative energy right now. So when he powers down, he'll be…" he started.

"That's right, lil bro. He'll be done for." Sonic finished.

The Blue Blur continued speaking,

"I want you all to stay here while I help Shadow. He won't last long once his chaos mode wears off."

Sally frowned,

"Absolutely not. We're going with you."

"Yeah! You need our help!" Amy yelled.

Sonic's serious look came back,

"Not this time. A super form is way too much for you all to handle. Stay. Here."

Silver speaks up,

"If you aren't going to let them go, then at least let me."

Sonic raised an eyebrow,

"What can you do?"

Silver uses his psychic powers to lift one of the downed pillars and throw it across the room. Everyone was surprised.

Sonic gave Silver an approving smirk,

"Wow! That's pretty impressive stuff."

Silver smiled shyly,

"Thanks."

"Sonic…" Sally muttered, still frowning.

Sonic strokes the side of her face, keeping his smirk,

"I'll be fine, Sal. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that." she replied.

Sonic chuckles and then faces Silver,

"Alright, Ace. Let's go."

Back outside of the castle, in a forest area…

It's pouring heavily outside. Shadow continues avoiding Scourges pursuit, dodging most of his attacks.

Scourge starts to get frustrated,

"How long are you gonna avoid fightin' me, ya pansy?"

Shadow gives him an answer,

"Chaos...Blast!"

A wave of chaos energy hits the purple hedgehog, knocking him into a tree.

"That's more like it!" Scouge yelled.

Scourge lunges at Shadow once more. Shadow tries to dodge again, but Scourge anticipates this and places his punch in the direction that Shadow is dodging in. The

punch hits Shadow directly in the face, flinging him into a rain puddle. His red aura starts to diminish slightly. As Shadow tries to get up, Scourge axe kicks him back into

the ground.

"Chaos...Blast!" Shadow yelled again.

Scourge only gets pushed back a few feet, causing him to laugh,

"That attack was a lot weaker than the first one! You startin' to lose steam, Shadow?!"

Scourge goes for a spin dash and launches at Shadow. Shadow braces himself, using his chaos energy to form a protective barrier. The spin dash makes impact with

the barrier and Shadow struggles to keep it up.

Suddenly, Scourge's gets surrounded by blue energy, cancelling his spin dash out completely and freezing him in place,

"The hell?! Who's doin' this?!"

Silver reveals himself and Sonic ambushes Scourge with his own spin dash. The spin dash barely does anything though.

Scourge grinned,

"Good attempt, Blue. Now it's my turn!"

Scourge knees Sonic in the stomach causing him to gasp in pain. The Blue Blur tries to land a punch but Scourge twists his arm and follows up with a headbutt to his

forehead. He lands face first into another puddle of rain and got on his knees, clutching his stomach with his good arm.

Silver uses his psychokinesis to toss a tree at Scourge,

"That's enough!"

The tree hits Scourge but it does nothing,

"Nice powers, kid. How 'bout you use 'em to get a less stupid haircut."

Scourge tries to spin dash Silver but he is stopped by his psychokinesis once again.

Shadow takes advantage of this and stands right next to Scourge, once again yelling,

"Chaos...Blast!"

Shadow releases the rest of his enormous chaos energy, knocking everyone back. His red aura completely vanishes afterwards, causing him to pass out after using all

of his power. The blast knocked Silver head first into a tree, knocking him out temporarily too.

Unfortunately, Scourge was completely unfazed, with his grin growing wider,

"Heh, pathetic. I guess that was a nice little light show."

Sonic was still in excruciating pain, breathing heavily as he tries to get back on his feet,

'This is only getting worse. Shadow and Ace are down and I can barely stand right now. I'm not sure how much longer I can last.' he thought.

Scourge glances at the Blue Blur,

"How does it feel, Sonic? How does it feel to be completely outmatched? To be in **MY** shadow?!"

Sonic was still clutching his chest. It was hard for him to even speak.

Scourge laughs at the hedgehog's pain and crosses his arms,

"See what happens when you choose to be the hero? You get stomped on! You should've taken my offer when you had the chance. You could've been Sonic the

Hedgehog at his _full_ potential. Now, you're just all washed up."

'This is my chance to stall him for a little longer.' Sonic thought.

He gives Scourge a serious look,

"You *cough* can say whatever you want to me, Scourge. But at the end of the day, you're still a scumbag. All you do is take the easy, nasty way out and get the quick

reward. Big whoop."

Scourge punches Sonic in the face in response and grabs him by neck,

"I'm tired of listenin' to your mouth! I'm gonna choke the life outta-"

At that moment, five minutes have passed and Scourge reverts back to his normal form.

Sonic smirks as his double lands on his chest.

His body feels like it's on fire causing him to yell out in pain,

"What's...happenin'...to me…? It feels like… my insides...are being...ripped apart!"

Sonic explains,

"You were using the anarchy beryl's power for too long, bozo. Dr. Kintobor said that overusing even **_one_** can kill you due to the negative energy. You were using seven

of them for five minutes. I'm sure you know what that means?"

Scourge was still struggling. He was in too much pain to reply.

Sonic sees the green hedgehog crawl towards him, trying to hold on to his life.

Scourge struggles for at least a minute.

As Sonic watches his pitiful struggle, his confident smirk starts fading. After ten seconds the smirk turned into a disturbed look. And after thirty seconds his

disturbed look became a face of remorse. Scourge finally stops moving and Sonic continues watching, staying completely still for a few more seconds.

Sonic's head dipped down and he frowned with closed eyes,

"...I tried to convince you to be a hero… but you wouldn't listen. I wish it didn't have to come to this…"

Silver and Shadow both get back to their feet and stand next to the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic, what happened to him?" Ace asked.

"He was in his super form for too long and it cost him his life…" Sonic answered.

Shadow didn't say anything, he was just frowning at Scourge's body.

"...Let's get back to the others. We're done here." Sonic said.

A few minutes later, Sonic limps back into the castle with Shadow and Silver following.

Sonic's vision was blurry but he could still see the Freedom Fighters smiling at his return, although he did see that Tails had passed out from fatigue.

Fiona was anxious and thus was the first one to speak,

"Where's Scourge?"

"He's toast. He overused the anarchy beryl and it killed him…" Sonic answered.

Everyone was shocked by the news.

"He's gone?" Miles asked.

"Yeah. You all don't have to worry about him anymore." Silver confirmed.

Sonic turned to the two hedgehogs with a faint smile,

"Ace, Faker, thanks for the help. I wouldn't have stood a chance if you guys weren't there."

The two hedgehogs simply smile back.

Sally noticed Sonic's damaged state and held him, looking scared,

"Sonic, are you-" she started.

Sonic gave his girl a confident smirk, barely able to keep his eyes open,

"I'm good, Sal. Just feeling a bit winded is all."

Not long after this, the hedgehog started to feel heavy and he blacked out from fatigue.

"Ah think it's about time we head on home. It's been a reeeal long day." Bunnie suggested.

"Oui! Let us be going right now!" Antoine agreed.

"The globe posts should still be running. We'll return them to Dr. Kintobor once you all leave." Miles said.

"And the sooner you leave, the better. We've got some rebuilding to do here." Alicia added.

"Okay, everyone. Let's return to Mobius." Sally said.

 **Mobius, New Mobotropolis…**

It's been thirty minutes since the gang returned from Moebius. Shadow left for G.U.N. HQ and Nicole had constructed an extra hut for Fiona. Silver however, is still at

the city exit with Amy, Bunnie, Antoine, and Nicole.

"Hey, Ace. How are you able lift such big objects?" Amy asked.

"I use what's called, psychokinesis. By using my mind, I can move any object I want. Lifting a light and medium weight object isn't a problem, it's like second nature to

me. But if I want to a lift large object, I have to focus really hard." Silver explained.

Amy grinned,

"That's so cool!"

Silver blushes in response,

"Thanks."

Antoine looked more confused,

"But how ees this possible? Were you taught this technique?

Silver answered Antoine normally,

"I don't know, actually. I was born with these powers but I haven't been able to find my parents. My master is the one who taught me how to control

them."

Nicole glanced at him curiously,

"And who is this "master" you speak of?"

Silver became anxious,

"Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to say. He'd be really upset with me if I revealed who he is."

Bunnie noticed Silver's anxious expression and smiled,

"It's alright, sugar. You don't hafta tell us if you don't wanna. We're just glad you were able lend a helpin' hand. We wouldna' been able to reach Moebius without

yah."

Silver smiled,

"Thank you, Bunnie. I was glad to help you all.

He turned towards the exit,

"Anyways, I have to return to Downunda. It was a pleasure meeting all of you."

Everyone waved good-bye as Silver used his psychokinesis to blast off. Eventually stopped at a secluded area in the Great Forest and pulled out his time stone.

Silver began to feel really upset as he stared at the stone,

"Everything looks so beautiful in this time period. I really wish I didn't have to leave. It was nice having other Mobians to talk to. For once I felt like I had… friends."

He hesitated for a while but snapped out of it,

"No. I have to go back home and do more research in order to save this world…"

His gaze shifts towards the sky and he smiles,

"Farewell, Freedom Fighters. I know someday we'll meet again."

Silver levitates off of the ground and closes his eyes,

"Chronos Control!"

The hedgehog disappears instantly, returning back to his time.

 **New Mobotropolis, Hedgehog residence, five minutes before midnight...**

Sonic was laying unconscious in his bed. He had a brace on his arm and bandages around his forehead. Sally was right beside him, putting away the first aid materials

she had used.

As she put the last of the materials away, the hedgehog started to stir.

He opened his eyes slowly,

"Wasgoinon?"

Sonic tries to get up quickly but he winces in pain and lies back down.

Sally goes up to him and slowly runs her fingers through his quills,

"Shhhh. Relax, Sonic."

The hedgehog lazily shifts his eyes towards Sally's. His vision was still blurry.

"Sal? Where am I? Am I in heaven?"

The princess pauses for a second.

She then cracked a smile and giggled lightly,

"No, silly."

The princess embraces the goofball and closes her eyes,

"You're back home. Safe and sound."

Sonic puts his good arm around her,

"Are the others alright?"

Sally, while still hugging him, answers,

"Yes. Everyone made it back here safely."

The hedgehog raises an eyebrow,

"And Fiona?"

"She's here as well. Nicole constructed a new hut for her." she answered.

Sonic smiles,

"Cool."

As Sally separates from him, both of Sonic's parents enter his room, along with Muttski,

"Is that our son we hear?" Jules asked.

Muttski jumps on Sonic's lap and licks him, causing the hedgehog to chuckle and pet him.

His mother comes to his side and hugs him with tears of joy,

"There's my baby boy! I don't know if I'll ever get used to you saving the world everyday!"

Sonic blushes in embarrassment,

"Mom, I'm eighteen. I'm not a baby anymore."

Jules places a hand on Sonic's shoulder and smiles down at him,

"Sonic is right, dear. He's grown into quite the hero."

"I know. But to me, you'll always be the baby boy that we love so much." Bernadette said.

Sonic couldn't help but hug back in response,

"I love you guys, too."

Sally was smiling sweetly at the family moment.

Sonic stared at both of his relatives anxiously,

"Mom? Pops? I don't mean to be rude but, can I have a moment with Sal?"

"Not a problem, son." Jules said.

Jules then looks at his wife,

"Let's go, Bernie."

Bernadette kisses her son on the cheek,

"We'll be back to check on you later, honey."

Bernadette then remembered something and smiled at Sally,

"Oh, princess! I almost forgot to thank you for treating Sonic's wounds. He's so lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend."

Sally smiled shyly with a blush,

"Anytime, Bernie."

Sonic's parents along with Muttski leave the room, closing the door behind them.

Sally then sits on the side of Sonic's bed and gives him her full attention,

"What's up?"

"...It's about Scourge." Sonic answered.

"Scourge is gone, Sonic." Sally said.

Sonic frowned,

"I know the dude is kaput now, Sal. That's not what's bugging me."

Sally looked lost,

"Okay…what is it then?"

Sonic looked down sadly,

"It's… about his death. I… thought I'd be more happy that he's finally gone. But as I watched him die slowly... I started to feel... bad. Sad even."

Sonic's worried gaze met with Sally's,

"Sal, you gotta remember that Scourge is just another version of me. If I didn't have my friends and family to support me… I probably could've ended up like him. It's

really disturbing to even think about."

Sally grew a scowl,

"Sonic, don't you dare compare yourself to that monster. The only thing the two of you had in common was the ability to run fast. Yes, he had a rough upbringing, but

so did you. And you chose to be a hero despite all the grief you've gone through in the past. There's no excuse for the despicable actions Scourge performed. It was

 _ **his**_ choice to be evil."

"But Sal-" Sonic said but Sally cut him off, putting a finger on his mouth,

"No buts."

She then wraps her arms around Sonic and smiles lovingly at him,

"Sonic, you may flaunt that giant ego of yours every now and then. But unlike Scourge, you have a heart just as big to match it. I've known this since the day I met

you."

Sonic stares into Sally's eyes, letting what she said sink in.

He smiles with a sigh,

"You say all of the right things to me, Sal."

Sally gave the Blue Blur a knowing smile and states in a soothing voice,

"I know. It's like I'm your girlfriend or something."

Sonic smirks at the sarcastic comment,

"Heh, very funny."

"Thanks." Sally replied.

Sonic's expression changes back to normal after a couple seconds,

"There's one more thing I got on my mind... I think we should give Fiona another shot at being a Freedom Fighter."

Sally nods,

"I want to give her second chance, too. However, I think me and you should have a talk with her first. I want to make sure she isn't hiding anything else from us."

Sonic shrugs,

"We'll do it tomorrow then. I'm still feeling pretty drained."

Sally yawns,

"I'm rather worn out as well. I suppose I should head back to the castle."

Sonic smiles,

"Alright, well, thanks for patching me up. I'll see ya tomorrow morning."

The couple smiled lovingly at each other and then both leaned forward, their lips locking for a short and sweet kiss. After the princess breaks the kiss, she walks out

the door while waving at the Blue Blur.

Sonic lies back down with his usual smirk, and eventually falls into deep sleep.

 **End**


	14. A Well Deserved Break

Major thanks to my girlfriend for helping me with some key parts of the story. She's the Sonic to my Sally :3. I really hope you all enjoy as usual.

 **A Well Deserved Break (Issue 197 Redone)**

 **It's a rainy morning in the nanite city...**

Sonic had woken up early in the morning, and after seeing the rain, decided to visit Sally. Luckily when he arrived, the princess had been awake too, and she

suggested that they should play chess until the rain stops... But there was just one problem... The Blue Blur had never heard of the game, which shocked the princess.

So after quickly explaining the rules to him, the two began to play multiple matches. Sally had dominated almost every game, frustrating the hedgehog to no end.

That is, until finally-

"Ha! Checkmate! In your face, Sal!" Sonic cheered, growing a cocky grin.

Sally smiled in amusement,

"Excellent work, Sonic. The score is now fourteen to one."

Hearing this made the hedgehog immediately pout,

"You were keeping count?"

"Mmhmm." Sally answered.

Sonic crossed his arms and averted his eyes to the side,

"And you thought _**I**_ was the dork…"

Sally giggled sweetly at Sonic's demeanor,

"No need to be bitter, Blue. I'm actually very impressed that you managed to sit through fifteen matches of chess."

The hedgehog stood up from the table and glared at the princess,

"Yeah? Well every single one of those matches was a total snoozefest."

The chipmunk raised an eyebrow and stood up as well,

"You mean, you weren't having fun?"

"Getting destroyed fourteen games in a row isn't exactly my definition of fun." Sonic answered.

"We all have to start somewhere, Sonic. If it makes you feel better, I didn't do that well when Nicole first taught me." Sally advised.

"Meh, I'm ending my chess career early. I'll stick to running and bashing badniks." Sonic replied.

This made his partner frown,

"If you thought it was so boring then why did you continue to play?"

The hedgehog sighed and grabbed both of the chipmunk's hands,

"...Because we barely get any free time together, and I thought I'd try something you like to do for once. I got bored after the first game, but I continued playing for

you."

Both of Sally's eyebrows were raised,

"Really? That's…" she started before smiling warmly,

"incredibly sweet of you. But you should've spoken up earlier. We could've done something else instead."

Sonic smiled back,

"It's not a big deal, Sal. I'm willing to try new things for my favorite gal."

The princess blushed and kissed the goofball's cheek.

The Blue Blur then grinned mischievously,

"I **_do_** expect you to return the favor, though. 'Cause we're doing an activity of my choice next."

Sally's gaze briefly moved to the window, noticing that the rain had stopped,

"I suppose that's fair." she said before turning back to Sonic.

"However, it's going to have to wait until after we speak with Fiona."

Sonic pouts again,

"Aw, crud. I completely forgot we were doing that today."

Sally smirked,

"I figured you would."

Suddenly, the door to the princess's room opens slowly and her father rolls inside with his wheelchair, wiping the sleep from his eyes,

"Sally, what's all the commotion? Me and Alicia are trying to get some sleep."

Sally turned to the former king and noticed how stressed he appeared. His eyes were half closed and they were a little red.

The princess felt bad and glanced at her father with remorse,

"I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't realize we were speaking so loudly."

Maximilian moved closer to the couple with a very faint smile appearing on his face,

"It's alright, but please keep it down. Especially for your mother. She hasn't slept since you returned from that evil dimension."

Sonic chimed in,

"That won't be a problem, your kingliness. Sal and I were about to leave, anyways."

Maximilian gave the blue hedgehog a puzzled look, not realizing he was standing next to his daughter,

"Sonic? What are you doing here, my boy? Sally told me you were in critical condition last night."

Sonic smiled nervously and shrugged,

"What can I say? I heal fast. Though I'm still pretty sore in a couple spots."

Max looked surprised,

"That's rather impressive considering the circumstances."

The small compliment caused a confident smile to spread across the Blue Blur's muzzle,

"It's nothing I'm not used to, your highness. I'd go through the pain again if it means keeping you all safe."

Maximilian grinned,

"That's very noble of you, Sonic. You have my utmost respect. My daughter chose the right man to protect her."

Sonic's smile turns into a shy one and he looks away with a light blush, unsure of how to respond to the former king's compliments.

Maximilian then turns around waving at both Sonic and Sally,

"Alright, you two. I'm going back to sleep. Enjoy the rest of your day."

The princess smiled,

"Thank you, daddy. We will."

Once her father closes the door, Sally glances at the shy hedgehog beside her. She places her hands around his arm and tilts her head with a smirk.

Once Sonic noticed the expression, he raised an eyebrow,

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just think it's cute when you get all soft around my father." Sally teased.

Her partner looks up at the ceiling and groans,

"Don't rub it in, okay? I know how your pops is. I can't be my normal, eccentric self around him."

The princess leaned her head gently on Sonic's shoulder in response,

"Whatever you say, Mr. Softy."

Sonic rolls his eyes and walks out of the room with Sally under his arm.

Their expressions returned to normal as both of them exit the castle,

"We should stop by the Prower's before confronting Fiona. **_You_** may have healed fast, but I'm still worried about Tails' current state." Sally suggested.

Sonic stopped walking and gave her a reassuring smile,

"No need, Sal. I made a quick detour to his place before coming here. Rosemary told me his ribs are healing fine. He just needs to rest is all."

Sally paused briefly and then breathed a sigh of relief,

"I'm glad to hear that. I'd be heartbroken if his condition worsened."

Sonic's sad eyes fell on Sally's,

"Same here… I can't stand to see him get hurt. We've all been looking after the little dude ever since he was born."

"I know... It's crazy how fast he's grown up. I still remember me and Bunnie reading him bedtime stories when he was six." Sally commented.

The hedgehog smiled faintly as he thought about the past too,

"Heh, and I remember when he used to travel in my backpack during some of my Robotropolis raids. Good times..."

"At least he has his parents to help support him. I'm sure they feel the same way we do." Sally said.

"Yeah…" Sonic agreed.

Both stood in silence as melancholy filled the air around them. Eventually, the chipmunk shakes off the feeling and grabs her partner's hand again, giving him a warm

smile,

"Come on. Let's go talk to Fiona."

He nods in agreement and they start walking again.

 **New Mobotropolis, Julayla Memorial Park…**

Fiona Fox is sitting alone on one of the benches, having left her house a couple hours ago. Her goal was to explore as much of the city as possible before the citizens

woke up.

At the moment, she is seen looking up at the sky with a faint smile,

'This city is beautiful. It's so lively and colorful…' she thought.

The red vixen's eyes lingered on the beautiful Lake of Rings for a time. Eventually, the peace and quiet started to unnerve her for some reason and there was a feeling

of dread in the back of her mind.

'...I won't lie, it feels weird being back on Mobius. Even though I'm happy to be free of Scourge, I still feel paranoid… I still feel... scared. I may have helped the

Freedom Fighters, but that doesn't make up for everything I've done. I know they don't trust me. They have every right not to...'

She shivers a little in fear,

'I really shouldn't be out here either. I'm sure that most of the people who live in this city are aware of what I've done. They probably hate my guts.'

The fox slowly stood up and checked the time on her watch.

She gasps when she sees that it's late in the morning,

'Oh, no! I lost track of time! The citizens will wake up at any moment!'

Fiona starts pacing in her neighborhood's direction quickly, hoping that no one was up yet. When she arrives, she instantly freezes up. There were already some

Mobians awake, as well as a few kids playing in the streets. Fiona tries to tip toe past them but freezes up again when one of the boys spots her.

The boy monkey tugs on his father's shirt,

"Dad? Who is that girl? I don't recognize her from here."

The adult monkey scrutinizes the vixen and frowns once he realizes who it is,

"Hey, it's that female fox from last month's newspaper."

Fiona gulped.

The other residents in the area hear the adult monkey's announcement,

"You mean the one that betrayed the Freedom Fighters?" a female dog asked.

"And the one that slapped the heroic Tails?" a little panda girl asked.

'Ohhhh, this is **REALLY** bad! I shouldn't have left my hut...' Fiona thought sadly.

The adult monkey nods at the other residents,

"It's her alright. She probably came back to start more trouble."

Fiona grew an anxious look and finally spoke up after hearing the monkey's accusation,

"N-no! I'm not here to cause problems. I live in this neighborhood now."

The female dog raised an eyebrow,

"Since when? Nobody has seen you here before."

"Nicole made me a home last night." Fiona answered.

An elderly peacock yelled out,

"She's lying! The newspaper said she's a master manipulator! We can't trust a single word she says!"

"You're right! Nicole would never build homes for double crossing sleazeballs like her!" the adult monkey agreed.

Fiona starts to panic,

'They aren't listening! I need to get back to my hut before things get worse!' she thought.

The red fox runs past the citizens, causing them to become even more suspicious.

"She's running away! Quick everyone! We have to stop her before she does something!" the monkey protested.

The other adults agree and form a small mob to chase after the fleeing fox. Fiona makes it to her hut and locks her door instantly but the small mob spots her

right as she does this.

The adult monkey points at the hut,

"Over there! She's trying to rob that person's house!"

The small mob then makes its way over to Fiona's hut.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally are not too far from the red fox's new home. As the couple gets closer and closer to the neighborhood, Sally starts to hear the small mob's

yelling in the distance.

The princess stops walking and listens to the noise, causing Sonic to stare at her in confusion,

"Sal? Why'd you st-"

Sally interrupts with,

"Shhh."

She listens again,

"Do you hear that?"

Sonic starts to listen too. He hears the same yelling, causing his ears to twitch a little.

"Now I do. Sounds like a bunch of yelling."

Sally points to the right,

"And it's coming from over there. That's where Fiona lives."

"Then that can only mean trouble." Sonic replied.

The couple ran in the direction of the noise and stopped at the sight of the small mob. They were crowding Fiona's hut, yelling all sorts of things.

"Get out of that person's house and leave the city, or else!" the adult monkey yelled.

"Yeah! You don't belong here!" the female dog screeched.

Sonic dashes in front of the door and puts his hands out before things escalate,

"Woah, woah! Cool it, you guys!"

The adults give Sonic their attention,

"Sonic the Hedgehog?" the adult monkey asked.

Sally walks through the small mob and stands next Sonic,

"And the princess?!" the elderly peacock yelped.

"What's going on here?" Sally asked.

An adult chicken in the mob frowns,

"We found the female fox traitor from last month's newspaper. She was roaming around the neighborhood and now she's trying to rob this person's home."

"We wanted to stop her before she could do anything harmful." the female dog added.

Sonic frowned and crossed his arms,

"Guys. You do realize that this is a completely new hut, right? This place was made by Nicole last night."

The adults all analyze the hut more closely and see that Sonic is right, confusing them all.

"You mean that fox girl was telling the truth? But why? Why would Nicole build a house for a traitor?" the adult monkey asked.

"Don't you both remember what she did to the Freedom Fighters? What she did to Tails…" the female dog asked.

Sally, with a serious expression, explains,

"Yes, we do. But she assisted us in dealing with Scourge and without her help, our planet would still be in danger."

All of the adults are shocked by this revelation.

The princess raises a finger,

"This doesn't mean we trust her completely, though. That's why we're here. We're going to get some answers."

Sonic glances at Sally and then back at the adults,

"Uhhh, what she said. Point is, we've got this covered. You guys just go back to what you were doing before."

All of the adults reluctantly leave one by one. After making sure that everyone is gone, Sonic and Sally face Fiona's door.

The hedgehog knocks on it,

"Yo, Fi! Open up! The coast is clear!"

The door opens slowly, revealing a timid looking Fiona,

"H-hi, Sonic and Sally. Come on in."

Sonic and Sally step inside, both keeping serious looks on their faces. Fiona leads them to the living room and sits in a chair while Sonic and Sally settle down on the

couch. Sonic folds his arms and crosses his legs while Sally was observing Fiona, leaning forward a little with her hands clasped together.

Fiona grows a nervous smile and breaks the silence,

"So... you wanted to speak to me?"

"Correct. But before that, do you mind telling us what you were doing roaming the streets?" Sally asked.

Fiona closes her eyes while sighing in sadness,

"I left my house a couple of hours ago to get a feel for the city. I was hoping to get back home before anyone woke up, but I lost track of time. When I got back to my

neighborhood, there were already people awake. And after they recognized who I was, they chased after me. I didn't mean to stir up trouble..."

Sonic raised an eyebrow,

"How do we know you're not lying?"

Nicole appeared next to Sonic on the couch,

"She's not. Fiona is telling the truth."

Everybody gets startled, jumping up a little,

"Gah!" Sonic yelped.

He then gives Nicole an annoyed look,

"Geez, Nicole. I know you can appear anywhere in the city, but can you give us a warning next time?"

Nicole grows a sheepish expression and blushes in embarrassment,

"I apologize, Sonic. I'm still adjusting to a corporeal life."

Sally cuts in,

"It's okay, Nicole. Continue what you were saying."

"Why, of course." Nicole replied.

Her expression returns to normal and she faces her two friends,

"I've been monitoring Fiona since last night. She did indeed leave her house early to explore the city. However, she didn't have any malicious intentions while doing

so."

Fiona stared at the holo-lynx curiously,

"You were watching me that entire time? Did you get any sleep at all?"

Nicole smiles at Fiona,

"I'm an A.I. construct. I don't require sleep."

Fiona averted her eyes to the side,

"Oh, right…"

Sally glanced at Nicole,

"Thank you for clarifying things, Nicole."

Nicole nodded and then disappeared,

"Your welcome, Sally."

Sonic and Sally focus back on Fiona once again and Fiona does the same.

"Okay, back to what we originally wanted to talk about." Sally started.

Sonic continued,

"Look, Fi. Sal and I appreciate the help you gave us when it came to dealing with Scourge. We wanna give you a shot at redemption. But before we can do that,

there's something you need to clear up for us."

Fiona's anxious expression returns,

"…What is it?"

Sally sits up a little, placing one hand on her hip and using the other to point at Fiona,

"It's about the story you told me yesterday afternoon. While it explained why you had a change of heart, it didn't explain why you went with Scourge in the first place.

You originally told me it was because you found the hero life dull, but I know that wasn't your only motive. There's something you didn't tell us the day you left with

him."

Fiona was completely still for a minute. She then looks down and crosses her arms defensively,

"You're right... there was something else… but it's...it's something I'm not comfortable talking about. Something I don't **_want_** to talk about."

"You can tell us, Fi. I swear we're not gonna judge you." Sonic reassured.

Fiona, hearing this, closes her eyes and thinks about her past. She starts to remember all of the awful memories she had when she was young. Being trapped in the

original Robotnik's lab. Sonic finding her and promising to come back with help. The months of waiting, only for him to not show. The two painful years of digging her

way out, etc. As she starts to remember more and more, tears start to trail down her face and she begins shaking a little.

Fiona cried softly,

"I left because… I was still... angry! Angry that you never saved me from Robotnik. I waited in that cell for months, praying you would come back... but you never did… I

thought you abandoned me… I had to claw my way out in order to survive and it took **TWO** whole years of digging with little food or water! After I escaped, I spent a

month looking for my parents, only to find out that they had moved away. I assumed they forgot about me too… I was full of so much anger and despair that it

changed me. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone anymore..."

The couple across from her both had sad expressions.

Sonic, feeling guilty, replies,

"I'm sorry, Fi. I didn't mean to leave ya hanging, honest. Me and Mighty tried to come back for you, but we goofed up. Robotnik knew we were coming so when we

arrived, he gassed the whole lab, putting everyone to sleep. Me and Mighty barely escaped before passing out. And by the time we woke up, he had already ditched

the place and took you with him."

Fiona stammers,

"M-mighty told me the s-same story w-when I ran into him a year ago. I thought he was lying... It was only when you sacrificed yourself that I was ready to forgive

you. I couldn't continue believing that a person as selfless as you would leave me to die on purpose."

Fiona stopped and looked at Sally. The tears were still rolling down her face,

"Sonic's sacrifice inspired me to leave my life of crime and become a Freedom Fighter. When I came to you guys, I was very surprised by how accepting you were. I

wasn't used to anyone being nice to me. But despite your kindness, I continued to keep to myself mostly because my mind was still in a dark place at that time."

Fiona's expression changed to a more irritated one and she clenched her fists,

"And then a week later, I met Scourge."

She then stares at Sonic,

"Do you remember what he did when he kidnapped you?"

"Course I do. That was back when he was still "Evil Sonic". That lame wannabe tried wreck my reputation by posing as me." Sonic answered.

"Well, while Scourge was impersonating you, he tried to get close to me. He flirted a lot and asked me all sorts of questions…"

Fiona's head dipped in shame,

"I... opened up to him… I felt lonely, and I enjoyed the attention… After I explained my past to him, he actually opened up to me too. His childhood was just as rough

as mine and we were both pretty screwed up. For once, I thought I felt a real connection… so I continued to see him, even after I found out that he wasn't you. He

spoke to my dark side, using my past to convince me to come with him. He told me to leave you guys behind, saying that the Freedom Fighters would abandon me just

like you did... and eventually, it got to me…"

"Fiona..." Sally started but Fiona interrupted,

"I know, I know! It was stupid and selfish! It was my fault for even listening to him! I'm not trying to excuse my actions! But I need you both to understand where I'm

coming from!"

Fiona stammers again,

"I k-know I screwed up... badly. B-but I want to make things right. I'm tired of all this drama. Tired of running away from my problems. And most of all, I'm tired of being

alone… I'd do anything to earn everyone's trust back..."

Sally fell into deep thought, processing everything Fiona told her. What she related to the most, was being lonely. She remembers the time when she was watching

over Knothole. How alone she felt as she became more distant with Sonic and her friends.

After thinking for a few more seconds, Sally smiled sympathetically at the vixen,

"Okay. I think we've heard enough, Fiona. I know this wasn't easy, but admitting your mistakes is a great first step towards becoming a better person. Me and Sonic

will speak with the others to see how they feel. Nevertheless, I need you to stay in this hut for now. The citizens don't know the details of what transpired in the past

few days, so we'll have to update them."

Fiona calms down a little and replies with,

"I understand…"

The princess stands up and takes a deep breath,

"Let's go, Sonic."

Sonic jumps up to his feet as well.

"Wait!" Fiona said loudly.

Sally raised an eyebrow,

"Yes?"

Fiona stood up slowly,

"I know I shouldn't be asking for favors this early, but can I please talk to Tails? I really want to apologize to him for… you know..."

Sonic crossed his arms,

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

Fiona was confused,

"How come?"

Sally answers,

"Fiona… you hurt Tails the most out of all of us. He had a massive crush on you and when you slapped him, it broke his heart. It took him a very long time to get over

you."

Fiona was even more confused,

"He had a crush on me? I had no clue..."

The Blue Blur frowned,

"The thing is… it isn't necessarily your fault. It was Robotnik's. He made a robot clone of you and programmed it to fall in the love with Tails. Long story short, he

found out about it, leaving the little dude heartbroken."

"That's why he was acting strange around you. He wanted to feel the love that he felt when he was with your robotic twin." Sally added.

"That's awful... I didn't know Robotnik used my robot double for that. Please, let me speak with him. I can't forgive myself until I apologize for what I did."

Fiona pleaded.

"We'll think about. But as of right now I **_need_** you to stay here." Sally said.

The vixen sits back down,

"Alright…"

Sally smiled sympathetically again,

"If you need anything, call Nicole. She'll be more than happy to assist you."

And with that, Sonic and Sally slowly leave the house in silence. As they start walking, the princess glances back at Fiona's hut with concern.

"The poor girl. I can't believe she kept all of that trauma suppressed. I used to bottle up my emotions like that too."

She then turned her head towards Sonic, who had a look of guilt,

"Sonic? What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have stopped searching for her, Sal. Maybe Fiona might've turned out better if I kept my promise." Sonic answered.

The chipmunk frowns in response to his statement,

"Sonic, we already discussed this last night."

The hedgehog shook his head,

"No. This is different, Sal. What you said last night made sense. Scourge had a lotta chances to be a hero and he blew all of them. He also had people who were willing

to help him out. But Fiona had zilch. **_Nobody_** was there to help her. She had no family, no friends, **_and_** no home. I should've saved her when I had the chance."

"You were young at that time, Blue. You weren't as strong as you are now. As I mentioned before, having a rough life doesn't justify being evil. Fiona herself said

there was no excuse for what she did. She's owning up and taking responsibility for her past decisions. Not only that, but she's already forgiven you. So please stop

blaming yourself. I don't want you brooding over something that happened so long ago." Sally said in a low tone.

Sonic stopped the princess and grabbed her hands,

"Look, I'm not gonna let this get to me. Angsting up is Shadow's thing. But I'm also not gonna pretend I didn't play a part in Fiona's trauma. To me, it's sorta like a

reminder to never let this type of thing happen again. If someone gets lost or kidnapped, I'm gonna do everything I can to save them. No matter what."

Sally smiled proudly at the Blue Blur and embraced him,

"That's fine then. As long as know that the Freedom Fighters will always be there to support you."

Sonic hugged back,

"Of course, Sal. I'd never forget that."

After a little more hugging, the two separate.

Sally wanted to change the topic to a more positive one,

"Sonic, tell me about that activity you had in mind earlier."

Sonic grinned,

"I wanted to take you on a tour of Angel Island. Knuckles told me everything has mostly mellowed out, so it's safe to visit. We're gonna fly there using the Tornado."

"That sounds lovely. I've heard wonderful things about the island." Sally said.

The Blue Blur smiles smugly,

"It is pretty **_cool_** up there. Especially in the Icecap Zone."

Sally smirked,

"Was that pun intentional?"

Sonic closes his eyes halfway and shrugs,

"I don't know, genius. You tell me."

The princess playfully nudges him,

"Such a smart aleck."

Sonic puts his arm around the chipmunk,

"Y'know you love it."

"Uh-huh. **_Sure_** I do." Sally stated sarcastically.

Sonic chuckles a little before stating,

"We should tell the others what's up before leaving."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Sally agreed.

 **New Mobotropolis, Chuck's Diner…**

Amy, Bunnie, Rotor, and Antoine are seen entering the building. Before they find a table, Antoine finishes telling a story to them.

"And zat is how I defeated ten SWATbots using nothing but my naked hands as weapons." Antoine finished.

The other three look at each other and snicker,

"Nice story there, Sugar-Twan." Bunnie said sarcastically.

"If you can accomplish that with your hands, I can't imagine what you can do if you used your saber." Amy jested.

Rotor simply shook his head in amusement.

Antoine grew a confident smile as the four sit at a table with six chairs,

"Merci, merci, mes amies."

A smiling Uncle Chuck walks up to the four with a clipboard and pen,

"Hey there, Freedom Fighters."

"Hi, Sir Charles./Howdy./Bonjour./Sup." the four answered.

"You all rest okay last night? That Moebius business was pretty darn stressful." Uncle Chuck asked.

Bunnie answers with a sly smile,

"We're all doin' fine for the most part, sugar. Antoine was the only one who had some trouble sleepin' last night. Said somethin' bout a nightmare involvin' escargot and

margarine."

Antoine looked slightly irritated as the others snicker again,

"Zat is supposed to be private information!"

Bunnie smirked at her husband and elbowed his shoulder lightly,

"Don't get yer yellow hair in a knot, hon. Y'know ah like to pull yer leg from time to time. Ah'm only foolin'."

Antoine pauses briefly, his expression changing into an embarrassed one,

"B-but of course. Forgive me mon amour for being, how you say… too sensitive."

Bunnie grabs Antoine's hand gently,

"Aww, it's alright."

Uncle Chuck clicked his pen and raised his clipboard,

"I'm guessing you all want the usual?"

Amy grinned,

"Yes, please. Starting the morning with waffles is a necessity."

Uncle Chuck laughed lightly,

"I gotcha covered then."

Uncle Chuck writes down the order and goes back into the kitchen.

Rotor speaks up shortly afterwards,

"So, guys. I've been meaning to ask you, but how do you all feel about Fiona staying here? She may be a bit jumpy, but after thinking about it last night, I'm fine with

her."

Amy's happy demeanor immediately goes sour and she crosses her arms in anger.

Bunnie answers him,

"Ah noticed that as well. She's quite the jitterbug. Despite that, ah don't mind givin' her a second chance either. The girl has shown that she's willin' to make amends."

"I feel ze same. Without her help, our planet would have been doom-ed." Antoine agreed.

Rotor was about to ask for Amy's opinion but Sonic and Sally enter the diner.

Amy's happiness returns at the sight of the couple,

"Sonic! Sally! Over here!"

Sonic and Sally happily walk over to the table and sit down in the last two chairs.

"Sup, everyone." Sonic said.

"Nuthin' much, Sugar-hog. We're just havin' a nice lil' discussion." Bunnie answered.

Everyone else greets both Sonic and Sally.

"You both showed up at the right time. We're talking about our opinions towards Fiona living here." Rotor replied.

"Have you spoken with her like you said yesterday, ma princesse?" Antoine asked.

"Actually, yes." Sally answered.

Amy had a curious/irritated look,

"And what did you find out?"

The chipmunk's somber face reappeared,

"It's a rather hefty story, so I'll keep it short. We discovered that she was suppressing an immense amount of childhood trauma while she was a Freedom Fighter. She

allowed Scourge to exploit the emotions that the trauma produced, twisting her thoughts in the process. This is what eventually led to her betrayal."

"Ah guess that explains why she was always so quiet." Bunnie said.

Sally smiles sadly,

"Indeed, it does. Thankfully, she's not using it as an excuse for what she did. She told us that she's willing to do whatever it takes in order to earn our trust back."

Amy crossed her arms,

"How do you know she's telling the truth? She's lied to us before."

"I've been observing Fiona's behavior for a while, Amy. I could tell she was being genuine." Sally reassured.

Sonic finally speaks up,

"So whaddaya think guys? You willing to give Fiona another shot?"

Rotor shrugs,

"I'm cool with it."

"Oui, me too." Antoine agreed.

"Count me in as well." Bunnie said.

Everyone looks at Amy, who was still frowning with her arms crossed.

"What about you, Amy?" Sonic asked.

Amy looked down in silence for a few seconds before speaking,

"I don't know if it's the right thing to do. There's still something about her that rubs me the wrong way."

Sonic smiles sympathetically and places his hand on Amy's shoulder,

"You're still mad about what she did to Tails, aren't you?"

Amy immediately glares at Blue Blur, making him flinch,

"Of course I am! Tails is one of the most sweet and honest people I know! He was only trying to convince Fiona to stay with us, and what does he get in response?! A

slap in the face! My best friend, being treated like absolute garbage!"

The others guests in the diner (+Uncle Chuck) stare at the rosy hedgehog, causing her to look at the ground again and blush in embarrassment,

"...I'm... sorry, Sonic… I didn't mean to snap like that. I've been holding onto this anger for so long and seeing Fiona only made it worse."

Sonic puts his hand back on her shoulder,

"You don't have to be sorry, Amy. Sal and I were there when it happened too. We were just as mad as you are right now. Remember, Tails is like a little brother to me,

so when I saw him get slapped, I immediately lost it. It temporarily turned me into a different person and I wanted to hurt Fiona for stepping on my best bud's heart..."

He then smiles,

"But that was in the past. As of today, I know for sure that Fiona wants to change for the better. Heck, she even begged us to let her see Tails so she can apologize to

him. I think she deserves another chance."

Amy takes a moment to think before looking at Sonic,

"Fine… I'll give her a second chance…"

"Alright, then it's settled." Sonic said.

"Buuuut, there's one thing I want before I approve. If Fiona plans on apologizing to Tails, then I want to be the the one who arranges and supervises it." Amy stated.

"Sure. I don't mind." Sonic replied before turning to Sally.

"Do you, Sal?"

Sally smiled,

"I suppose that's okay. As long as you don't lose your temper."

"I won't." Amy reassured.

Uncle Chuck comes to the table with four trays of waffles and syrup,

"Did anybody order some waffles?"

Rotor looked excited,

"Oh, yeah! Time to dig in!"

The others thank the elderly hedgehog while he focuses his attention on Sonic and Sally,

"Sonny, Princess, would you like anything?"

"Nah, we're good unc. We're actually gonna be leaving the city." Sonic answered.

Bunnie gave the couple a curious look,

"Yah are? Where y'all headin'?"

Sonic's sly smile appeared,

"I'm taking Sal to Angel Island for a date."

Bunnie smiled with glee,

"Aww, how romantic!" she squeed.

"If by "romantic" you mean fun and adventurous, then sure." Sonic stated.

Sally smirked and rolled her eyes at Sonic's comment.

"Well, I hope you two have a good time." Uncle Chuck replied.

"Thanks, unc." Sonic said.

Both Sally and Sonic stand up and face the others,

"We plan on staying there until the evening. If a situation arises, be sure to contact us and we'll return as soon as we can." Sally instructed.

Amy smiles at Sally,

"Nothing is going to happen, Sally. We'll make sure of it. You two just run along and have a lovely date."

Sally gave Amy a warm smile,

"Thank you, Amy."

Amy winks,

"No problem, sister." she replied causing both her and Sally to giggle lightly.

Sonic and Sally say goodbye to everyone else and walk out of the diner.

"Alright, Sal. I guess we can stop by the Prowers to check on Tails before we go." Sonic said.

"Thanks for reconsidering." Sally replied.

The hedgehog smiled,

"It's nothing. The only reason I said no back at the castle was because it was still early, and I didn't wanna wake the little dude up. Since it's an hour 'til noon, I figured

it'd be okay to see him now."

Sonic's smile changed into a smirk,

"That, and I don't need you worrying about him on our trip. I want you to be in the moment and have fun when we get there. Getting free time to chill is super rare, so

let's not waste it." he finished.

Sally became timid, looking at the ground like she got caught committing a crime,

"...You really do know me."

"Yeah, it's like I'm your boyfriend or something." Sonic stated sarcastically.

Sally cracked a smirk, knowing she said the same thing to him last night,

"How original. I wasn't expecting you to take a page from my book, Sonic. You starting to run out of sarcastic remarks?"

"This is me we're talking about, Sal. I never run outta sarcastic remarks." Sonic replied.

The two then hear a familiar voice nearby,

"Hi, Sonic. Hi, Sally."

They turn around and see Tails approaching them with bandages around his chest area. They both smile cheekily in response.

"Hey there, big guy! I'm happy to see you up and about. How are those ribs of yours doing?" Sonic stated.

Tails smiled back at the couple,

"They're healing up faster than I thought they would. As long as I don't do anything dangerous, I should be fully healed by tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Sonic cheered.

"I'm assuming you got your parents approval before coming out here?" Sally asked.

Tails smiled sheepishly,

"I did… though it was kind of frustrating. They tried **_everything_** to keep me at home. I know they care about me a lot, but I explained to them that I'd be fine and that

I can handle myself."

Sonic put his arm around the two tailed fox,

"We know you can, lil bro. I didn't get a chance to say this yesterday, but thanks for having my back on Moebius. I'm real proud of you for standing up to that green

jerk."

Tails smiled pridefully and fist bumped with Sonic,

"Nothing to it, Sonic. You know I'm always up for going on adventures with you."

Sonic then remembered,

"Oh, right. Speaking of adventures, I'm actually going on one with Sal today. We're gonna travel to Angel Island using the Tornado. We'll be back around the evening."

"You should relax with the others in the meantime, Tails. They're all eating breakfast inside the diner. Amy in particular needs to speak with you." Sally suggested.

"Okay, Sally. See you later, then. I hope you and Sonic have a safe trip." Tails replied.

The princess smiles lovingly at her former "nephew" and hugs him gently. Tails hugs back and then enters the diner afterwards.

Sally focused back on her partner, keeping her smile,

"You were right, Sonic. I feel much better now."

The Blue Blur wraps his arms around Sally's waist and brings her closer to him,

"Good. Now you can focus on our trip to Angel Island. No worrying about the past and no worrying about the future. Just be in the moment. Got it?"

Sally wraps her arms around Sonic's neck,

"I got it."

"Cool. I'm gonna stop by my house to get a few things. You should head to the castle and do the same. Just be sure to meet me at the airfield in five minutes." Sonic

instructed.

The two separate,

"See you in five minutes then." Sally replied.

 **Back in Fiona's hut…**

Fiona is lying on her couch, staring at the ceiling. She closes her eyes and starts thinking to herself,

'I'm really lucky that Sonic and Sally are so forgiving. They could've kicked me out of the city if they really wanted to. But they didn't. And for that, I'm thankful.'

The fox then stared at her right hand with disgust,

'Still though, I can't believe I slapped Tails the way I did. He's such a kind and innocent boy... and I treated him awfully. I was no better than Scourge... I have to

apologize to him. I can't forgive myself until I do.'

Fiona sits up and analyzes her surroundings,

"Nicole? Can you hear me?"

The holo-lynx appears in front of her, smiling,

"Indeed, I can."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Fiona said.

"Not at all. What do you need?" Nicole asked.

The red fox gave Nicole an appreciative smile,

"I just wanted to thank you for confirming my story earlier."

"You're very welcome, Fiona. I understand that you didn't intend to rile up the citizens." Nicole replied.

Suddenly, the vixen's expression changed into an anxious one,

"Are you able to stick around for a little? I would like to have someone to talk to."

Nicole sat next to Fiona,

"I don't mind. I know that prolonged isolation can drive a person mad. Loneliness is very unpleasant emotion to experience."

Fiona sighs,

"Tell me about it. I've had to deal with being alone for my entire childhood. When I escaped from Robotnik, I started to believe that relying on others was pointless,

and that it's every Mobian for themselves. I kept that mentality during my thieving days, too. Even when I partnered up with Nic the Weasel, I always looked out for

myself. I didn't care about her or anyone else."

Fiona faintly smiles at Nicole,

"But now, I'm ready to move on from that mindset."

Nicole smiles in response,

"That's wonderful, Fiona. Having a more positive psyche is very important. But it's also important to surround yourself with more positive individuals. Surrounding

yourself with negative ones only hinders your growth as a person."

"Yeah, that makes sense... I've been surrounding myself with negative people for such a long time."

Fiona then looks down at the ground with sadness,

"That's why I regret betraying the Freedom Fighters so much. You're **_all_ ** such positive people... Even when I first joined the group, everyone was so welcoming. You

guys tried to talk to and encourage me, but I didn't listen. I'm not going to make the same mistake again… I **_can't_** make the same mistake again."

Nicole placed a hand on Fiona's shoulder,

"You no longer need to be anxious, Fiona. Sonic and Sally saw how truly remorseful you are and they're willing to grant you another opportunity. Once they inform the

others, I'm confident that they'll forgive you in time too."

Fiona gazed into Nicole's eyes,

"Thank you so much for listening, Nicole. You're very considerate for an A.I... I think I'm going to sleep off the rest of the day. I haven't slept in awhile."

"Very well. Call me later if you need anything else." Nicole replied.

Nicole fades away and Fiona goes to her bedroom.

 **Back at Chuck's Diner…**

Tails enters the building after saying goodbye to Sonic and Sally. He spots his friends sitting in the corner, noticing they had just finished eating their breakfast.

He approached the table with a cheery smile,

"Hi, everyone!"

The others look at Tails and smile cheekily as the lovable fox sits down.

"Look who it is. It's the champion who went toe to toe with Scourge." Rotor encouraged.

Amy grabs his hand with both of hers,

"We're so happy that you're okay."

Bunnie places her hand on Tails head,

"You can say that again. How're ya feelin', sweetheart?"

Tails smiled shyly,

"I'm okay, you guys. You don't have to worry."

Bunnie rubbed his head,

"We can't help it, sugar. You mean a lot to all of us."

"How ees your chest area? Ees it steel hurting?" Antoine asked.

"No, it's only a little sore at this point. The residual energy from the power ring Sonic gave me is helping out a lot. I should be back to normal by tomorrow." Tails

answered.

Rotor grinned and snapped his fingers,

"I knew those spare rings would come in handy."

Tails gave everyone a curious look,

"So what were all of you talking about before I came here?"

The other four Freedom Fighters tense up, eyeing each other nervously.

Amy glances at Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine,

"You three don't mind if I take Tails for a walk, do you?"

"Go on ahead. Me and Antoine got some things to do, anyways." Bunnie answered.

"And I have to finish working on my nanite suit." Rotor added.

"Thanks, everyone. C'mon, Tails." Amy insisted.

"...Okay?" Tails replied.

The two walk out of the diner and Tails stared at Amy curiously,

"Amy, what's up? Why are you acting all weird?"

The rosy hedgehog's melancholic eyes met with Tails',

"Just… walk with me. I need to talk to you about Fiona."

Tails immediately jumped back in shock,

"F-fiona?! She's here?!"

Amy sadness was replaced with confusion,

"Wait. You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. I was so focused on fighting Miles and Scourge that I didn't even notice her. Not to mention I passed out when we got back from Moebius. Why is she

here?"

"Welllll… she kind of…" Amy broke off.

Tails started to get impatient,

"She kind of what? Tell me, Amy."

"She... kind of lives here now…" she answered.

"What?!" he yelled.

Amy puts both of her hands on Tails shoulders,

"Tails, calm down. I can explain."

Tails looked down at the ground and clenched his fists, trying to hold back his tears,

"I don't understand... I was so close to finally forgetting about her..."

He then placed a hand on his right cheek,

"Forgetting what she did. And now she's going to be back in my life again…?" he finished.

Amy leaned on her knee so she can see Tails' eyes,

"Listen, I know it hurts to remember what happened. It's like reopening an old wound. Fiona broke your heart and you never found out why. But now you can. You can

finally get some closure."

Tails sniffled and looked into the rosy hedgehog's eyes,

"What changed, though? Why is she all of a sudden allowed to live here?"

Amy sighed,

"Fiona helped us fight Scourge while you and Sonic were on Moebius. She told us that she made a horrible mistake and that she wants to become a better person. She **_also_** begged Sonic and Sally to let her see you so she can apologize for what she did. The others voted to give her a second chance, except for me. I'm not going to give her a second chance until **_I see_** her apologize to you. That's why me and you are going to her hut together."

Tails glared at Amy intensely,

"When are we going?"

"That's up to you. I want to give you all the time you need before seeing her." Amy answered.

Tails stood tall and stated firmly,

"Let's do it now. I want to get it over with."

The rosy hedgehog saw how serious the fox was and crossed her arms,

"If that's what you want, then I won't argue."

 **At King Frederick Airfield…**

Sonic's plane, the Tornado, is seen parked on the runway. The Blue Blur was in the front seat, setting up the autopilot for the trip.

Soon, Sally walks up to the plane, looking very lively,

"Hi, Sonic."

Sonic finished putting in the coordinates and looked down at the chipmunk,

"Sup. Got everything you need?"

"Yep." Sally responded.

Sonic smirked and raised an eyebrow,

"Including your sweater?"

Sally returned the smirk,

" ** _Yes_** , including my sweater."

"Good. 'Cause our first stop is Icecap Zone, and I don't wanna Popsicle for a girlfriend." Sonic jested.

Sally threw her bag into the back seat and jumped up on the left wing.

"Are we good to go?"

"Yep, everything's all set. Time to take to the skies!" Sonic answered.

The launch ramp rises up just as the hedgehog starts up the plane. Then, the aircraft begins picking up speed slowly until it shoots off of the launch ramp, catapulting

into the sky.

Once the plane reaches a stable height, Sonic turns the autopilot on. He then leaps out of his seat and onto the left wing, sitting next to Sally.

The princess feels an arm slide around her waist. When she turns to the side, she finds herself gazing into Sonic's eyes,

"Decided to activate the autopilot, huh?"

Sonic looks straight ahead at the clouds and smiles,

"You bet. I wanna kick back and enjoy the view with you."

Sally glanced at him curiously,

"You're really trying to savor every second of this day, aren't you?"

"Well, duh. I may love running and saving the day, but I also love hanging with the others and having some alone time with you. **_You're_** the one who taught me that

slowing down has its benefits, and I don't mind slowing down today. It'll probably be awhile before we can relax again."

Sonic gave Sally a serious look,

"That's why I'm trying to teach you to be in the moment. If you spend too much time worrying about what happened earlier or what'll happen later, then you won't

have time to enjoy what's happening now."

The princess was taken aback,

"Wow, Sonic. That was very perspicacious."

The hedgehog smirked,

"Yeah, I'm totally that thing you just called me."

Sally giggled loudly and wrapped her arms around him,

"I guess I do worry a little too much. But there are times where I just can't help myself."

"...Be honest with me, Sal. Are you worrying about something right now? " Sonic asked.

"No, not at the moment. Before we left I was worried about Amy moderating the meeting between Tails and Fiona, but I'm fine now. I know Amy will do the right thing.

I have confidence in her." Sally answered.

"I do, too. I've been helping Amy out with her temper problem for a couple months. She still loses her cool every now and then, but she's getting better."

Sally stares at the ocean they're flying over and then at the clouds once more,

"How long do we have until we reach Angel Island?"

Sonic brings Sally closer and leans his head on hers,

"Who cares? Let's just enjoy the ride together."

With a gentle smile, the princess closed her eyes, satisfied with her partner's answer.

 **New Mobotropolis, Outside of Fiona's hut…**

"Tails, are you one hundred percent sure about seeing her now?" Amy asked.

Tails maintained his confidence,

"I'm one hundred and ten percent sure, Amy."

The rosy hedgehog sighed again and knocks on Fiona's door.

Fiona hears the knocking from her bedroom, causing her to wake up,

"Huh…"

The red fox sits up and wipes her eyes,

"Sonic and Sally are back already? How long was I out for?"

She looks down at her watch,

"It's only an hour past noon."

Fiona gets off of her bed and stretches. The knocking is heard again and she quickly heads to the front door, opening it.

The vixen now finds herself face to face with Amy which immediately makes her smile nervously,

"H-hi, Amy."

Amy doesn't even make eye contact with the red fox,

"Hi… can we come in?"

"Ummm… sure."

Fiona's eyes then widen,

"Hold on. _**We**?_ "

Amy moves to the side so Fiona can see Tails. Tails starts sweating, his confidence slowly diminishing at the sight of his former crush.

Fiona on the other hand, had moved back a couple steps,

"Tails…?"

Tails just glared at her in response. Fiona motions for both of them to come inside, with the two doing exactly that. After closing the door, she turns around and faces

both Amy and Tails.

They all stand in awkward silence until Fiona musters up the courage to speak,

"Tails, I-" she started but Tails raised his hand, signaling her to stop,

"No. I'm going first."

Both Amy and Fiona were surprised by his forwardness.

The yellow fox clenched his fists and closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back his tears,

"Fiona... what you did… hurt me a lot. I wasn't able to function properly for at least two weeks. It would've taken a lot longer if I didn't have my friends and family to

support me. After two months, I was finally was able to move on and forget what happened..."

The tears start to slowly appear in Tails eyes,

"B-but now that you're back, I'm starting to feel that pain again."

Amy started to show concern as soon as she saw Tails' eyes immediately flare up.

The tears of anger began to roll down the thirteen-year-old's face,

"Why?! Why did you abuse me like that?! All I was trying to do was convince you to stay! To convince you that going with Scourge was a bad idea, and you slapped me

in the face!"

Fiona cries tears of sadness and shame,

"I'm sorry, Tails. So, **SO** , sorry. What I did was **_horrible_** and I regret hurting you and the others more than anything. I wasn't in my right mind at that time and I let

Scourge manipulate my emotions. I should've never listened to him."

"Then why did you? Why did you go with him if you knew it was wrong?" Tails asked.

"I was still angry at Sonic for leaving me with Robotnik. I thought he had forgotten me and left me to rot in his lab. The two years it took to dig my way out scarred me,

Tails." Fiona explained.

"But Sonic didn't leave you there on purpose. He went with Mighty to try and rescue you." Tails corrected.

Fiona tries to wipe her eyes but the tears just keep coming,

"I know that now, but for years I blamed him for my terrible life when it was really all my fault. I could've joined the Freedom Fighters a lot earlier if I wanted to, but I

let my anger get the best of me and decided against it. When I finally did join, I was too damaged by what I'd been through at that point. So I closed myself off and

barely opened up to you guys. I only opened up to Scourge because we both had a similar childhood and similar problems. By listening to him and his advice, my

grudge against Sonic started to come back... and you know the rest…"

Fiona looks at the ground, trembling slightly,

"But that doesn't excuse anything I did in the slightest. I should've opened up to the Freedom Fighters in the first place. You were all was so friendly towards me and I

took that kindness for granted. And you… you were **_always_** the nicest to me. You tried to talk to me the most and I completely ignored you."

The red fox saunters over to Tails and rubs his right cheek softly, specifically the area she slapped. The young fox starts to get tense but eases up after he realizes

Fiona means no harm.

"I'm so sorry for breaking your heart, Tails. And I'm **_so_** sorry for hitting you the way I did. I understand if you can't forgive me, but I just wanted to give you the closure

you deserve."

Tails looks up into Fiona's eyes with his own tear stained ones. He studied them closely, seeing how pure they were... She wasn't lying this time...

While this was happening, Amy was staring at the two, looking absolutely baffled.

Tails had kept his serious expression through the entire conversation and continues to maintain it as he briefly thinks to himself,

"Fiona… I forgive you... I'll still need time to think about all of this. But I forgive you."

Fiona smiles sadly at the two tailed fox. Not knowing how to respond, she embraces him and breaks down. Tails sniffled and hugged back, his face slightly more

sympathetic.

Amy stopped staring blankly and instead looked at the trembling Fiona with sad eyes,

'Oh my gosh... I knew she had issues, but I didn't think she was this messed up…' she thought.

It takes a while for Fiona to calm down, but eventually the two foxes separate silently.

Amy walks up to both of them, keeping her sad expression,

"And I forgive you too, Fiona."

"Y-you do?" Fiona asked.

"I do. And I'm sorry for constantly harassing you. Tails is my best friend so when you did what you did, I was furious. I wanted to get back at you by making sure

you felt uncomfortable and hated, but I took it too far." Amy explained.

"Amy, you have absolutely no reason to apologize. I deserved it after what I did. How you treated me was totally justified." Fiona replied.

Amy shook her head,

"No it wasn't. When I was young, my mother taught me that two wrongs don't make a right. By treating you the way I did, I made myself look just as bad."

The rosy hedgehog looked up at the red fox,

"I can see how much you regret hurting us and I'm willing to give you another chance."

"Me too." Tails agreed.

Fiona smiled sadly again with small tears of bliss and content,

"Thank you. Both of you."

Both Tails and Amy stood in silence for a little.

"Sonic and Sally are gone right now. But when they come back, we'll meet with the others and talk." Tails said.

"You should stay here until we do, though." Amy added.

Fiona nodded,

"Thank you. I will."

Tails and Amy walk out of the house slowly, both of them feeling slightly relieved.

Amy puts her arm around the yellow fox as they start walking,

"How do you feel now, Tails?"

Tails wipes the last of his tears and smiles at Amy,

"Like a giant badnik got lifted off my shoulders... Thanks for coming with me, Amy. I wouldn't have had the confidence to stand up for myself if you weren't there."

Amy smiled lovingly at her best friend,

"Anytime."

Tails grew a look of uncertainty,

"I wonder how I'm going to explain this to my parents. They're pretty mad about this whole situation, too."

"The best thing you can do is tell the truth. Be upfront and don't be afraid to tell them how you really feel." Amy suggested.

"Yeah, you're right." Tails agreed.

The young fox looks up at the sky,

"But, I'll think about it more later. Right now we have the entire day to do whatever we want, and the weather is so nice."

Amy smiled,

"The weather is pretty nice… you want to hang out by the Lake of Rings?"

Tails smiled back,

"Sure."

 **Angel Island, Icecap Zone…**

Sonic and Sally had landed at the base of Dragon Spine Mountain a few minutes ago. Sonic had his red scarf on while Sally had a blue sweater.

The Blue Blur also had a small sled under his right arm,

"Aw, yeah! This is gonna be fun!"

Sally stared at him skeptically,

"What exactly do you have planned?"

Sonic pointed at the peak of the mountain,

"I'm gonna take us to the top of Dragon Spine Mountain, and then we're gonna sled all the way down super fast!"

The princess instantly became suspicious and raised an eyebrow,

"That sounds extremely dangerous."

Sonic waved his left hand like it wasn't a big deal,

"Pfft, no it's not. I've done it before. Remember the Flying Battery story?"

"Yeeees." Sally answered.

"Well after I trashed Robuttnik's blimp, I used one of its blast doors to snowboard down the mountain, so I'm experienced with this sorta thing." Sonic explained.

"I don't know…" Sally replied.

The hedgehog put his left arm around her,

"Oh, c'mon, Sal. Loosen up a little. I know deep down you wanna do it."

'It **_does_** sound like fun…' Sally admitted in her thoughts.

The chipmunk rolls her eyes and smirks,

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Awesome!" Sonic cheered.

He leans forward,

"Hop on the hedgehog express and we'll be at the top in a flash."

Sally piggybacked on Sonic,

"Hold on tight!" he instructed.

The Blue Blur takes off, blasting up the mountain in thirty seconds.

"Aaaand, here we are!" Sonic announced.

Sally got off of his back and analyzed her surroundings.

She starts to get nervous after seeing how high up they were,

"Sonic, are you sure this is safe? We're at least twenty thousand feet high."

Sonic gave her a knowing smile,

"What's wrong? You scared of heights?"

Sally pouts,

"No, I'm not. But I have my limits."

"I promise it's safe, Sal. Have I ever steered you wrong?" Sonic asked.

"No…" Sally admitted.

Sonic placed the sled down on the snow,

"Exactly. Now, c'mon. You sit in front. I'll hold you from behind to make you feel more comfortable."

The princess gets in carefully with the Blue Blur sitting behind her and putting his arms around her waist.

"Alright, cross your fingers Sal. There's a small chance we might swerve off the path." Sonic jested.

"Sonic!" Sally scolded.

Sonic's smirk changed into a goofy grin,

"Haha! Just kidding!"

The blue hedgehog uses his weight to push the sled off the cliff,

"Woooo!"

The sled starts to shoot down the mountain at an incredible speed. During the entire ride, Sally was screaming and Sonic was laughing.

"This is insane!" Sally yelled.

"I know, right?!" Sonic chortled.

Eventually the two end up at the bottom and launch off a ramp, into a pile of snow.

Sonic's head pops out of the snow,

"That was way past cool! I swear, the jump at the end is always the best part!"

The hedgehog glance at the princess, who was laughing out loud.

Once she stops, she gets up and wipes the snow off of her.

Then she smirked at the hedgehog with crossed arms,

"Okay, I'll admit that was pretty exhilarating."

Sonic stood as well, eyes half-closed and grinning,

"Wanna do it again?"

"Definitely!" Sally answered.

Sonic's grin grew even wider.

So the two continued to sled down Dragon Spine Mountain, and after a few more rides, the couple was satisfied.

"I t-think that's enough." Sally said.

"Yeah, I'm good too. We should probably head to some place warm. I'm starting to shiver like crazy." Sonic agreed.

Sally then remembers something,

"Let's go to the hot spring."

Sonic raised an eyebrow,

"Hot spring? What hot spring?"

"There's a natural hot spring near the Azure Lake Oasis. Julie-Su told me it's very relaxing." Sally answered.

Sonic shook his head,

"Nuh-uh. No way. I hate water."

Sally folded her arms and frowned,

"You can't be serious. You're still afraid of water?"

"I can't swim, Sal." Sonic answered.

"It's not that deep. You won't even need to swim." Sally argued.

"I don't care. I'm not going anywhere near water, period." the hedgehog stated bitterly.

The princess smirked,

"Wooow. The Hero of Mobius, afraid of a hot spring that's only three inches deep. I wonder how the others will feel when I tell them this." she teased.

Sonic's eyes widened,

"You wouldn't."

Sally continues staring at Sonic, her smirk growing larger.

The hedgehog pouts,

"Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you would."

He threw his hands up in defeat,

"Whatever. You win. I'll go in the stupid hot spring..."

Sally pinches his cheek,

"That's my bwave hedgehog."

"Yeah, yeah. Can we just go already?" Sonic complained.

 **New Mobotropolis, Science Center…**

Rotor is seen with Nicole putting the finishing touches on his new nanite suit.

"It's all done, Rotor. This suit will provide you with the corrective support your back needs." Nicole said.

"Nice. Now I can help fight Robotnik without worrying about my back. I really don't want to become a liability." Rotor replied.

"You'll never be a liability, Rotor. You're still very important to our team, back problem or not. The inventions you create for us are very remarkable." Nicole reassured.

"Maybe... But you have to admit, having the extra muscle wouldn't hurt." the walrus replied.

The A.I. smiled,

"I suppose I can't argue with that."

Rotor gazes at the nanite suit proudly,

"I can't wait to see this baby in action. We're finally going to take that tyrant out for good."

He turns to Nicole with an appreciative smile,

"Thanks for lending me a hand with this, Nicole."

"The pleasure is all mine." Nicole replied.

The holo-lynx started to fade away, making Rotor look a little sad,

"Hey, where are you going?"

Nicole stopped and hugged the walrus,

"I'm just going to check on Fiona. I want to know how her conversation with Tails and Amy went. I'll be back afterwards."

After that the holo-lynx fades away and ends up in Fiona's hut.

"Fiona? Are you present?" she asked aloud.

A voice came from the bedroom,

"I'm in here."

Nicole walks inside and sees Fiona sitting on the bed with a small smile.

The A.I. smiled too,

"I presume the conversation with Tails and Amy went well?"

"It sure did. Both of them forgave me and I still can't believe it." Fiona answered.

"I knew they would. I've learned throughout the years that the Knothole Freedom Fighters are some of the most kind and understanding beings on this planet. They

treat each other like family and won't hesitate to put their lives in jeopardy for those they care about." Nicole explained.

Fiona wiped a tear away,

"I hope I can be considered family once I earn everyone's trust back. It would be nice to have one."

Nicole's expression became sad after hearing this,

"Do you recall anything about your relatives?"

Fiona's smile turned into a sad one and she crossed her arms defensively,

"Not much. I remember fragments when I sleep, but that's it. The only thing I know for sure is that my mother was a white fox and my father was a red one. I wish I

knew what really happened to them. I tried to trace their location after escaping Robotnik, but any lead I got brought me to nothing."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Fiona." Nicole said.

"It's okay. I've gotten over it at this point. Right now, I just want to focus on bettering myself. Not only for you guys, but for me as well." Fiona replied.

Nicole sat next to the fox,

"If you continue thinking positive like you are now, then I'm sure you'll improve at a quick rate."

"Thank you." Fiona replied.

 **Angel Island, Azure Lake Oasis…**

Sonic and Sally jump off the Tornado and look around.

"This is the place, Blue." Sally said.

Sonic takes off his scarf and throws it in the back with Sally doing the same with her sweater.

"We won't be needing these anymore. It's almost seventy degrees out here. "

Sally squints and spots the hot spring in the distance,

"Sonic, there's the hot spring. It's right next to that geyser."

Sonic pouts again,

"I'm not looking forward to this…"

"Don't be such a wimp. The _" **coolest dude on the planet** "_ shouldn't be scared of water that's only three inches deep." Sally teased.

After hearing this sentence, Sonic feels confident in himself,

"You're right. I'm not scared. I can do this."

The princess smiled,

"There we go. Just keep telling yourself that and you'll be fine."

The two make their way towards the spring until they're at the edge of it.

Sonic starts sweating,

'Alright, here goes nothing.' he thought.

Sally was simply watching him with an amused look. It takes what feels like an eternity for Sonic to touch the water with the tip of his shoe. After two more minutes,

the princess grew a sinister grin and pushed the hedgehog into the water.

"Ahh!" Sonic yelped.

A huge splash is made and Sonic resurfaces with a frown,

"Not cool, Sal."

Sally laughed,

"Of course it's not cool, goofball. That why it's called a _" **hot** "_ spring."

"Har har..." Sonic muttered.

Sally jumps in too and ends up next Sonic.

The princess wraps her arms around him and says,

"Aww, you're not actually mad at me are you?"

Sonic glared at the chipmunk who was smiling cutely at him.

After a few seconds, he smiles softly himself,

"Eh, not really. I can't stay mad at that smile for too long."

He then looks down at the water,

"And this water actually feels pretty good." he admitted.

Sally scratches behind the Blue Blur's ear, causing him to purr,

"You see? I told you it felt great."

The chipmunk smirks again,

"Next time we should try four inches of water." she teased.

Sonic's small frown reappeared,

"Don't push it."

Sally giggles and continues scratching him behind the ears.

The couple spends thirty minutes in the spring before exploring more of the island. They scaled Red Mountain, explored Marble Garden and Lava Reef, and admired the

beauty of Hidden Palace. Their last stop was the Strawberry Fields, where the two are seen lying against a tree. Sonic had his back against the trunk and Sally was

in between his legs, resting her head on his chest. The Blue Blur was gazing up at the sky while stroking Sally's hair. What he didn't realize was that she had fallen

asleep, lulled by the sound of his heartbeat as well as her hair being stroked.

"Oh, man. What a day. This was a nice breather after all that Moebius nonsense. Right, Sal?" Sonic asked.

The only answer he got was complete silence, causing him to look down with a raised eyebrow,

"Sal?"

Once he figure out the princess was asleep, he smiled sheepishly,

"Oops. I keep forgetting that rubbing your head for too long puts you to sleep."

He chuckles afterwards,

"What a weird quirk to have."

He relaxes for twenty more minutes and then nudges Sally a little which wakes her up,

"Hmmm..." she responded.

"Morning, sleeping beauty. Enjoy your nap?" he asked.

Sally wipes her eyes,

"What time is it?"

"It's seven thirty." Sonic answered.

The princess gets up quickly while stating,

"Oh, my. It's already late in the evening."

Sonic rubs the back of his head anxiously,

"Yeah... It's kinda my fault. I was supposed to wake you up thirty minutes ago but I didn't. You looked too peaceful."

Sally blushed a little,

"Well, we should get back to the others. They're probably waiting for us to return."

"Right…" Sonic agreed.

Sonic jumps into the pilot seat of the Tornado and Sally jumps on the left wing. It takes some time to find a clear path, but eventually they get enough speed to take

off. Soon, Sonic activates the auto-pilot and joins Sally on the left wing again.

"So, Sal… what'd you think? You enjoy the tour?" he asked.

Sally smiled lovingly at the hedgehog,

"It was amazing, Sonic."

Sonic returned the smile,

"Glad you liked it. I may not be great at romance, but I **_am_** great at having a good time."

"No one ever said we had to be a traditional couple, Blue. What we have is unique, and I enjoy what that uniqueness brings." Sally replied.

"I feel the same way, Sal." Sonic agreed.

They both lean in for a nice long kiss, ending their small vacation with a bang.

 **Freedom HQ, Common Room, 8:00 P.M...**

All of the Knothole Freedom Fighters are sitting in their own separate chairs, waiting for Sonic and Sally.

"They will be showing up any minute now." Antoine said.

Bunnie sighs,

"Yah said that five minutes ago, hon."

Tails shrugged,

"Maybe they ran into some air traffic."

Rotor snickered,

"What air traffic? Who else is going to be flying this late?"

"I don't know. You come up with a reason." Tails answered.

Nicole stated flatly,

"Have you all considered that they're just running late?"

Silence fills the air and then everyone responds with,

"Yes."

Finally, Sonic and Sally are heard coming down the tree slide. Sonic lands flat on the ground painfully and Sally lands on top of him.

"Ouch!" he yelled.

"Sorry, Sonic." Sally said.

The hedgehog frowns,

"Yo, what gives? Who moved the hay stack?"

Everyone shrugs except for Nicole, who clearly looked guilty.

"I apologize, Sonic. I was supposed to replace the old hay stack... but I forgot."

Sonic and Sally get up, with Sonic rubbing his back.

"It's whatever. Just remember to replace it tomorrow morning." Sonic replied.

Amy runs up to Sally and grabs both of her hands,

"Oh my gosh, you have to tell me and Bunnie how the trip went! I bet it was exciting!"

Sally smiled,

"I would love to go into detail, but first we need to talk about Fiona."

Sally and Sonic both sit on the couch.

"Amy, how did the conversation with her go? Were ya able to keep your cool?" Sonic asked.

Amy sits back down,

"Everything went fine. I didn't lose my temper and she apologized to Tails. I think she really meant it, too. It didn't seem fake."

Sonic smiled,

"Good job, Amy. I'm proud of you."

The rosy hedgehog smiled cheekily,

"Thanks, Sonic. Those anger tips you gave me really helped."

Sally looks at Tails with concern,

"How do you feel, Tails? Did Fiona's apology seem sincere to you?"

Tails nodded confidently,

"Yes. I know in my heart that she's being honest."

Sonic stood up and put his hand out,

"Alright, guys. Fiona messed up big time and we were all pretty mad at her for awhile. But now she's shown us that she's ready to improve herself and join our team

again. So let's take another vote. Put your hand on mine if you forgive Fiona and wanna give her another shot."

Everybody placed their hands on Sonic's.

"Cool. Then we're all set."

All of them raise their hands and cheer,

"Yeah!"

"I'll be sure to make an public announcement tomorrow." Sally said.

"We gotcha, Sal." Sonic replied.

"I think we should go to sleep early tonight. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow if we're going to take down the Eggman Empire." Rotor suggested.

Sally turned towards everyone,

"Rotor's right, Freedom Fighters. Try getting a good night's rest if you can. You'll need all the strength you can get."

The Freedom Fighters then leave Freedom HQ in two separate groups. The girls tell each other about their days while the guys do so separately.

 **End**


	15. End of the 2nd Robotnik War? (Prologue)

**A/N:** Hello my readers! For this story I'm trying something new. This entire chapter is going to be from Sonic's perspective because I want to flesh him out a bit more. Let me know what y'all think. This takes place 2 days after my previous story (197 Redone). So let's see what's going on in that noggin of his.

 **The End of the 2nd Robotnik War? (Prologue) A Blue Hero At Odds**

Man am I pumped! It's finally time. Time to stop Eggman for good. Me and the gang have taken out all the cronies guarding his Egg-Dome, and it was pretty easy too… Maybe a little too easy. Then again, the Dark Egg Legion has never been much of a threat. I _still_ think that Scratch and Grounder were more challenging, haha. Anyways, all we gotta do now is wait for Rotor to set-up the dynamite so we can "knock" on his front door. Heh, hope the doc doesn't mind an explosive entrance.

"Yo, Rote. We good to go?"

I got a smile and a thumbs up from him,

"Yep. The dynamite is rigged. Everyone should get behind cover."

I returned the gesture,

"Roger that!"

We all went behind a rock not too far off and Rotor was about to hit the detonator. But that didn't sit well with me. I wanna be the one who cracks that egg wide open.

So I said,

"Hold up, Rote. Mind if I push the detonator?"

He gave me a weird look,

"Umm… sure, Sonic."

When he passed the remote to me, I felt a rush of excitement. Kinda like that time when Uncle Chuck served me twenty chili-dogs at once.

"Yeah! This is gonna be awesome!"

I push the button and BOOM! The door comes right off!

"Okay, gang! Let's get in there and put ol' fatso down for good!"

I yell this to get my friends excited. I want them to be confident before we get in there. 'Cause there's no turning back after this. And from what I'm seeing, everyone seemed to be ready. Bunnie and Amy looked like they were itching for a fight, so I know they're good. 'Twan and Tails were a bit jumpy, but that might just be excitement. Rotor was being his normal chill self. And Sal… Sal was giving me that worried glare of hers... *Sigh* May as well see what the problem is.

"Why're you giving me that look, Sal?"

"Because I have a feeling you're not taking this as seriously as you should." she answered.

She's kidding right? Eggman's been a complete joke lately. There's no way he could beat us at this point.

Apparently, Antoine was on her side too, since he says,

"I must be agreeing with ze princess. Thees ees no time to be playing games."

I couldn't help but groan,

"Oh give me a break, guys. You're worrying for nothing. We've had Eggman on the ropes for a whole month."

Sal got a little closer,

"That may be true, but Robotnik is an unpredictable opponent. Even if we have the upper hand, we shouldn't take him for granted. Do you remember what happened the last time we underestimated him?"

She had to bring it up again... My failure to save Knothole from getting torched… But that wasn't the same as this. After losing Tommy, all of us had to deal with a buncha other stuff while Robotnik was silently scheming. Bringing Sal's pops back, finding Shadow's past, Fiona's betrayal, and our friends' wedding kept me and the others from focusing on him.

"That was different, Sal. After the incident with Tommy, Eggman went dark on us and we were too distracted with other things to keep tabs on him. But this time, we've got him cornered. He's done for."

My argument only made her glare worse,

"It's not that simple. Having the advantage doesn't mean we automatically win."

This is starting to make me lose my patience,

"So, what? Am I not allowed to be confident?"

That's when Bunnie chimed in,

"That ain't what she's sayin', Sugar-hog."

And Amy spoke up too,

"She's just saying to be careful. That's all."

Sal got even closer and her glare was gone. Instead, she smiled.

"Exactly what they said, Blue. It's alright to be confident, and I believe we can do this too. I just don't want us to get careless, okay?"

I really didn't feel like arguing since we're wasting time chatting out here (plus, that cute and innocent smile wasn't helping either).

"Fine, fine, whatever you say. Let's just get in there and kick some Robuttnik."

This response satisfied her and the others since they all nodded in agreement. After that, we all rushed to the entrance of the Egg-Dome to peek inside before going in… And man-o-man what I'm seeing right now, was _not_ what I expected. The inside of the Egg-Dome was like a coliseum similar to the one back at home. Except this one had a strange hole in the middle.

"This is really weird. When did Eggman have time to build this?"

The answer I got was not from my friends, but from the big (or should I say fat?) man himself through a mic. Me and Sal had already stepped in, but the others got locked out by another set of blast doors shooting up outta the ground. Then the entire dome got covered up by the same metal the doors were made of. We were trapped.

"Greetings, vermin! I'm so glad that the leaders of the Freedom Fighters decided to stop by for a visit!"

I tried to spin-dash through the doors and Sal used her ring-blades, but both did jack squat. We didn't even make a single dent. The hell is this stuff made of?

"Ah, ah, ah! There's no use trying to escape! This entire arena is composed of Tungsten, Osmium, and Titanium! It's impossible for you to break!"

This made me raise an eyebrow since I have no clue what any of those are. Maybe Sal knows?

"What's he talking about, Sal?"

"Tungsten, Osmium, and Titanium are the three strongest metals on the planet, as well as the most rare." she answered.

Eggman laughed at that,

"Correct, princess! Which means you're trapped with me, and you're friends won't be able to save you!"

I'm not gonna let this setback get to me. If anything, I'm actually excited. It'll be a challenge, sure, but me and Sal can take him down no problem.

"Who says we need to be saved? Sal and I are definitely strong enough to defeat you. Now get your ugly mug out here so we can tussle!"

What I said made Sal smile, which tells me that she still believes we can do it too.

But Eggman laughed even harder,

"Oh-ho-ho! This is where you're mistaken! It's you two who will be crushed by my new and improved Egg-Beater!"

Did… did he just say Egg-Beater? Don't those belong in the kitchen? What is it with the doc and stupid names? There's no way I can hold in my laughter!

"Pft, hahaha! _Oh no_ , _not the Egg-Beater!_ Whaddaya plan on doing? Turning us into a cake?"

My insult actually made Sal scold me silently,

"Focus, Sonic. This isn't the time to be making jokes."

Doesn't she realize that I'm trying to get in Eggman's head? I try to get under a villain's skin so I can get the upper hand mentally.

Eggman answers my rhetorical question from earlier,

"No. I plan on turning you both into dust! Do you remember what the Egg-Beater did the first time I utilized it?"

Huh? First time? I don't remember him ever using a machine called the "Egg-Beater". Maybe I wasn't there when he first used it. I'm trying to think back to the past, but I don't have any time though. Something is rising out of the hole in the center and I gotta be focused like Sal said. But what came out of the hole made me feel… how do I put it? Let's just say I felt something similar to way I feel when I'm around water. What rose out of the hole was the same battle suit Eggman used when he destroyed Knothole. There were a couple differences, however. The main one being that it's bigger than last time. It also had more spikes, another bumper shield, and another wrecking ball. The more I stare at this thing, the worse that "feeling" I mentioned gets. Am I... scared...terrified? No, screw that! I'm the Hero of Mobius and I got Sal right by my side! We're taking Robuttnik down and then I'm gonna-

"Have you forgotten, rodent? This is the same armor I used to burn that filthy village of yours to the ground! Except this model is vastly superior! It was made not only to handle you, but your friends as well!"

I felt a shiver down my spine. He can't be serious. He has to be bluffing. Yeah, that's gotta be it!

I shot a glare at him,

"I know, genius. You don't gotta state the obvious. Now less talking and more fighting!"

I looked at Sal real quick to make sure she had her ring blades out, and she did. She even nodded to let me know that she's ready. That's my girl!

Eggman laughed again, but this time it was more quiet,

"I've waited a long time for this. I'm going to make sure you and the princess suffer before I end your pathetic lives. The others won't be able to stop me without you two, and their spirits will be broken."

I was about to make another sarcastic remark on how wrong he was, but the doctor had already thrown a quick punch. One that me and Sal were barely able to dodge.

When we recovered, she quickly whispered something into my ear,

"Sonic, if what he's saying about this suit is true, then direct attacks probably won't do anything. We'll need to use his power against him instead."

I smiled at her, making it clear that I understood. But getting Robotnik to hurt himself is gonna be tricky.

Once again, I have no time to think of a quick strategy because my ear twitched,

"Duck, Sal!"

Eggman had swung the two wrecking balls so quickly that Sal couldn't react. I was able to though, and I scooped her up before she got hit.

"I-I barely saw that. It was so fast." she stuttered.

"I couldn't either. I was only able to save you because I _heard_ the attack. When I'm dealing with attacks this fast, I find it much easier to use my ears instead of my eyes. Try to do the same."

I'm hoping she gets what I'm saying.

"Okay." she answered.

Eggman's attitude didn't change whatsoever. The lunatic was still cracking up,

"Ha-haha! You can dodge as much as you want, but you're going to have to attack eventually if you plan on defeating me! Not that that's possible!"

I can't think of any insults or jokes to throw him off his game. I'm too focused on dodging the wrecking balls. At least I don't have to worry about Sal. She's doing a pretty good job of avoiding them too. Is she a fast learner or what! Still, all this dodging is gonna wear us out if we don't do something. How am I gonna-

"Augh!"

...Ugh… he caught onto my dodging patterns and I took a hit straight to the side of my head... But that's when I saw something... odd. I watched Sal dodge another attack and when the wrecking ball hit the wall, it bounced off. That gives me an idea!

"That was a lucky shot, Egghead! Betcha can't hit me again!"

That got his attention,

"That's a bet you're going to lose!"

I got near the wall and dodged right before the ball hit me,

"Right back atcha, doc!"

The wrecking ball bounced off the wall and hit Eggman's cockpit, knocking him off balance. Now it's time to put the hurt on him... Except I didn't get the chance, since Sal did something first. Something awesome! She jumped towards the doc's suit and cut right through the chains attached to the wrecking balls. Guess it wasn't made outta the same metal the walls were since both of them fell to the ground and became useless. Even though the side of my head was still throbbing, that didn't stop me from running up to my girl and giving her a high five. Eggman was too busy staring at the fallen wrecking balls to notice..

"Nice work, Sal! That was some quick thinking!"

Her smile was small,

"It's not over yet, Blue. We still have to destroy the armor itself."

"I know, but it should be much easier now."

Eggman heard every word that we just said and the room filled with his maniacal laughter. What's wrong with this guy? I think the dude may have finally lost his marbles (not that he had many to begin with).

"This will be far from easy, rodent. That was only a warm up!"

He's totally bluffing at this point. Talk about desperate.

"Why don't you stop with the empty threats and give it up already? You should know by now that no matter what you do, we'll always be a step ahead."

"Cling on to that attitude while you can. I'm sure it'll disappear once I activate the two chaos emeralds I have!"

That sentence made something in my stomach twist. He has to be lying! Obtaining one emerald is already a stretch, but two?!

"Yeah, right! You can only get the chaos emeralds by traveling to the special zone and challenging Feist!"

Then, the doc's cockpit opened and he showed us the blue and purple emerald. This made my stomach ache even more. He wasn't lying…. Whatever, it doesn't matter. We'll still find a way to beat him. We can do anything as long as we try. And the good guys always win… right?

"What's the matter?! You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Apparently, my face had changed without me realizing it. I turned to the side to see Sal's expression and she seemed worried. I gotta say something. Something that'll boost our confidence. We need to stay positive.

"Don't worry, Sal. Even if he has two emeralds, we can still win."

Here comes Eggman's laughter again…

"Aa-hahahaha! Don't lie to her! You both know how utterly helpless you are! Now that my Egg-Beater is at maximum power, you're as good as dead!"

I need to stall for time. At least long enough to think of a plan.

"Wait! How did you manage to snag those emeralds in the first place?"

My question made him grin and seeing all his teeth made my skin crawl.

"Do you think I was born yesterday, hedgehog? You just want me to monologue so you and the princess can concoct a strategy to defeat me. Well, it's not going to happen! I've learned from my past mistakes!"

And then, it happened so fast… all I felt was my head hitting the cold, hard wall. The doc had thrown a punch so fast, that not even _I_ could react to it. The only thing I heard… was Sal screaming my name.

"SONIC!"

I gotta get up... Eggman was gonna punch her next and she can't take as much abuse as me. I gotta-

"GET! UP!"

I had no choice but to take the punch for Sal. I can't let her get hurt. I can't lose her again!

This time, I got hit in the gut… and I think I heard my ribs crack. Even my vision was starting to get a bit blurry. Another two punches came at Sal… and I couldn't get up fast enough. I saw her trying to block one of the punches with her ring blades, but the other one hit the side of her head. Her screams of pain came into my ears.

"No, stop!"

I jumped back to my feet and tried to dash towards her, only to get kicked back down by Eggman.

"Now, now, rodent. Wait your turn. I want you to see the princess suffer slowly before dying! Hahaha!"

I wanted to get back up so badly… wanted to somehow miraculously turn this around, but I couldn't do anything. I felt... useless. None of this makes any sense! Even when I first fought his suit, it's punches never hurt this much! I've only taken three attacks from this new version and now I can barely move! Those two chaos emeralds made a huge difference!

"S-sonic…"

"Sally…"

Eggman had her in the suit's clutches,

"Awww, how adorable! The two love birds calling out each others names while writhing in agony. Well don't worry, you two. I'm sure you'll meet each other again. In the next world! But before that, I want you both to die slowly. So enjoy watching your precious princess get crushed into a bloody pulp, rodent!"

How did this happen? Everything was looking so good for us and now here we are, at the doc's mercy. This is… all my fault… Sal was right. I let my confidence get to my head, AGAIN! Because of me, Mobius is gonna get taken over by this psychopath… Not only did I fail to protect Knothole, but the entire planet as well...

"Do you have any last words, princess?"

Sal is starting to tear up and it's making me _so_ MAD! This can't be real! There still has to be a way to win!

"Sonic, I j-just want to tell you how s-sorry I am. I should've come up with a better plan from the start. If I had come more prepared, we wouldn't be in this situation."

The water that was welling up in my eyes bursted to the surface. I can't believe what I'm hearing! She's blaming herself?!

"P-please d-don't say that, Sal. It was my stupid ego that got us into this mess, not your plan. _I'm sorry!_ "

Eggman started tightening his grip on Sal, but not before she said one last phrase,

"I love you… Sonic..."

Rrrrrrr, I need to get back on my feet! I have to save her!

"I think I've heard enough! All of this sappy talk is making me sick to my stomach! Prepare to spend your last moments in excruciating pain!"

Sal's screaming started echoing through the arena for a few minutes. Soon, a loud snapping noise replaced the screaming. Was… was that her neck? No… NO!

"SALLY!"

"Ahhh!"

Wh-Where am I? I can't see what's around me…. Wait… my vision is starting to come back. I'm… in my room at Freedom HQ. It's still night time, too. It was… all just a nightmare! But I'm still shaking like a leaf… that felt _way_ too real! This is the third night in a row and this dream was by far the worst. I've been having these nightmares since the night after our break. The first time it happened, I woke my folks up by accident, and when they came to check up on me, I told them that I saw a bug. I really didn't wanna worry them, so I decided to bunk at the HQ for a couple days. Besides, I don't want any rumors about this spreading. I don't get why I'm having these nightmares in the first place. Could it be that I'm scared of failing the whole planet? No, that can't be it. That isn't like me. I always try to stay positive and keep my confidence… But in my nightmare, it's my confidence that screws us all over. Maybe I'm worried about what I'm gonna do after beating Robotnik? My job _is_ saving the day after all. Once Eggman's gone, the world won't need me anymore. I mean, let's think about it. All of the world's greatest threats have been handled already. Mogul has given up his evil ways, Naugus is brainwashed, Scourge is gone, and the Hooligans aren't a big deal. Eggman is the _only_ major threat left. I know it sounds awful, but there's some small part of me that doesn't want to defeat him. I get the biggest rush from saving the planet, and without Eggman, I won't be able to feel it anymore….Wait! What the hell am I thinking?! This is the same creep who almost killed Sal! The same psycho who destroyed Knothole, Mobotropolis, and roboticized my family! I gotta put what I want to the side and think about the future of our world. We have to end this war for good! After that, I guess I can just settle down with Sal. Actually, I don't consider that a bad option at all. It may sound cheesy, but she really is my other half. And even though I don't say it out loud, I do consider her my equal. There _is_ one thing that's bugging me, though. It's about something Knuckles and Julie-Su said during Bunnie's wedding. They said they don't need marriage. They gave each other their "words" and that was good enough for them. To be honest, I kinda like that approach. Do I really need a buncha papers to tell me that I love Sal? Yes, it's true that I rarely say "I love you" to her, but that's only because I've always been a man of action. It's real easy to say "I love you" or "I care" to someone, but if you never show it, then what's the point? To me, actions will always, _always,_ speak louder than words. That's why I think the whole marriage thing is sorta dumb. I feel that as long as she's by my side, I'll always be happy….. But, will she be happy with that? Would her parents be happy with that (they are pretty old school)? How would my parents and friends take that kinda news? Man, I suck at this romance stuff… Whatever, the point is, I love her, and I'd do anything to make her happy. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it…... Ugh, my thoughts are all over the place… I have too much on my mind. Thinking about all of this crap is starting to make my head hurt. In fact, I just realized that that's all I've been doing for the past couple of days. Nothing but thinking! It's definitely wearing on me too. After our break, I was real excited to get back into the action, but Sal and the gang had other plans for yours truly. They insisted that I stay and help them gather supplies for the upcoming fight...Bor-ring...Meanwhile, the Chaotix were ordered to do some reconnaissance so we can see what we're dealing with. Why couldn't I come along? I know I'm not the stealthiest person ever, but I'm at least better than Vector. The dude is a giant croc! He sticks out like a sore thumb! *sighs* At least I was here for the public announcement of Fiona's return to our group. Sal made the announcement in the coliseum and every mobian in the city came. I was pretty surprised by the amount of positivity that came from the crowd after they were told the news. Of course, Fiona herself _did_ apologize to everyone when the mic was handed to her. That along with my lil' bro actually vouching for her, helped a lot. Obviously there were still a good chunk of people who were against the idea, but the reception was mostly good overall. Personally, I'm happy she's getting another chance. I still feel like I'm somewhat responsible for the way she ended up (despite Sal thinking otherwise)... Alright, that's enough thinking. I really should go back to sleep.

"Sonic?"

Eh? That sounded like Nicole. I sat up to see and sure enough, there she was.

"What's up Nicole?"

She looked troubled... Hope everything is alright...

"I apologize for waking you up, but I require your assistance. Sally's been in the lab all day and I can't seem to get through to her." she said.

Oh yeah, this definitely made me raise an eyebrow,

"How come?"

"She's extremely focused on our strategy to beat Robotnik and seems to be in some type of trance."

Phew, I thought it was gonna be something worse. I can deal with this no problem.

"I'll see what I can do."

Her smile showed up,

"You have my thanks, Sonic."

"Don't mention it."

Welp, time to see what's going on. I jump to my feet and walk down the hallway slowly. When I came near the lab entrance, I heard someone mumbling.

"Perhaps, we can use the mountains surrounding the dome to our advantage. I'll have the Chaotix placed here and we'll… *sighs* No that won't work either. Robotnik's thermal sensors would still detect us from that range and we can't use any other guerilla tactics period."

Yep, that's definitely Sal. Nicole was right about her being in the zone. She was focused on a digital map of the EggDome and it's surroundings. So focused that she didn't even notice that I was walking towards her. As I got closer, I suddenly had the biggest urge to hug her. I don't know why, though…... Y'know what? I'm not gonna lie to myself. I wanted to hug her because that nightmare felt too real and seeing her alive was so relieving. There, I said it! Turns out, that was a bad move on my part. She wasn't expecting someone to hug her outta nowhere and her reflex was to elbow me in the chest. It didn't take long for her to realize _who_ she elbowed, though, and her apologetic look came my way.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Sonic! You scared me and I just sort of… reacted."

That elbow did hurt a little, but I still laughed at her reaction. I spooked her.

"It's cool, Sal. Nicole told me that you were in a trance or something, so I came here to knock ya outta it."

I hugged her again, but this time there was no elbow.

"Nicole also told me you were having trouble coming up with a plan to invade the EggDome."

She yawned and looked back at the map,

"Yes, I am. Every time I think I have a good plan, I find a hole in it that can be exploited. It's frustrating."

Hold on… Doesn't every plan have a weakness?

"Umm… doesn't that apply to all plans, Sal? I mean, there's no such thing as a perfect plan."

"I know but I want to get as close to perfect as possible, and no plan that I've made has come even close."

"Has anybody tried to help you?"

She looks back at me,

"Bunnie and Antoine tried but couldn't think of anything either. They left a few hours ago."

Her eyes fell to the ground and for some reason she started to look really sad,

"Sonic, I'm supposed to be the tactician of the team. The field leader. Yet I still haven't come up with anything remotely effective… This is our final stand against Robotnik and if the plan I choose goes wrong, then I'll be held accountable. I really don't want to risk failing everyone and losing the entire planet…"

So _that's_ what this is about.

"You too, huh?"

Apparently, what I said confused her since she raised an eyebrow,

"Me, too?"

Should I tell her about the nightmares I've been having? I really shouldn't be afraid to tell her...

"For the past three days I've been having nightmares about our final battle with Eggman… Every nightmare got more and more unsettling, with tonight's being the worst. In tonight's nightmare, you died because of my stupid ego and me not taking things seriously. All of it felt so real… I was-"

Just say it! Why is it so hard to say I'm scared?!

"What I'm trying to say, is that I'm...scared too… Scared of failing, scared of losing the planet, scared of making the same mistake I made with Knothole. But most of all, I'm scared of losing you and the others."

Y'see! That wasn't so tough! I even got her to finally smile. She better not make fun of me!

"Please don't laugh."

Her smile disappeared, instead turning into a confused stare,

"Why would I laugh at something so personal?"

I'm not sure what to answer with,

"I guess… it's just hard for me to admit that kinda stuff, y'know? If the citizens find out, they'll think that I'm not confident and everyone will lose faith in me. It's actually the main reason that I've been sleeping here. That, and "The Hero of Mobius: Afraid of Failing" isn't a news article I'd would be down with."

Aw man, she just rolled her eyes,

"Oh, please. I've told you in the past that you don't need to hide your softer side from me Sonic. You can tell me anything. Also, just because you're the "Hero of Mobius" doesn't mean you're not allowed to get scared. You're still a person. A person with emotions."

"But I need to set an example, Sal. Everyone knows that my job is to save the world and if I tell them that I'm worried, then they'll get worried. I don't want that. I want all the good people on this planet to feel hope, not fear."

There was a small pause,

"Sonic, do you remember what Amy said to you when we were all sitting together in the forest?" *187-88 Redone

"Nope."

"She said that everyone still believes in you and that even if they didn't, _we_ would. Me, your friends, and your family will _always_ believe in you. You don't _ever_ have to hide your emotions from us. We're all here for you."

There's no way I can hold in my smile. Not after hearing that.

"Thanks, Sal."

The smile she gave back made me feel all fuzzy.

"No, thank you. I feel a lot less stressed after this conversation. Spending the entire day on our attack plan really messed with my head."

I brought her a bit closer to my chest,

"Yeah, put the plan on hold for now. We still have a day left and overworking yourself is only gonna make things harder. We can continue working on it in the morning."

She raised an eyebrow again,

"We?"

Dang, she really doesn't know?

"Uh-huh. Me, you, Bunnie, and 'Twan. I'm sure we'll come up with best plan ever if we all work together. And y'know what they say, four heads are better than one."

This made her laugh,

"The saying is _two_ heads, not four."

I shrugged,

"Well, four heads are better than two then."

A giggle came my way,

"You're such a goofball."

Heh, I had to grin at that,

"A lovable goofball."

"Yeah, you sure are. Anyways, I should get back to the castle. Have a goodnight, Blue." she said.

But before she moved I scooped her up, causing her to squeak (actually, it was more like a "eep!"). I'm heading back home too, so I may as well give her a lift (and tease her).

"Time to take the hedgehog express, your highness."

I walked outta the HQ slowly with her in my arms.

"Sonic, you don't have to take me all the way back to the castle. I can walk."

Another grin incoming,

"Who said I was asking?"

Ha! I got her to smirk! But that only lasted for a second. She looked confused again.

"Wait, but aren't you sleeping here tonight?"

"Nope. I'm going back to my place. I don't need to bunk here anymore."

Sal's confused stare turned back into her usual smile. After she got more comfortable in my arms, I took off, with both of us being quiet for the rest of ride. Man, I feel good. I gotta agree with what Sal said earlier. That talk really helped me get my confidence back and now I feel motivated. Coming up with a really good attack plan is gonna be hard, but as long as we try, we can do anything.

 **End**


	16. The End of the 2nd Robotnik War? (P:2)

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"Author's note: Hello once again my readers! Sorry this took so long. I've been doing some artwork on DeviantArt./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"My username is THE-Julian-Cabrera/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; user-select: text !important;"This time we're focusing on Fiona. This takes place 1 day after 197 Redone unlike the first prologue (which was 3 days after)./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; text-align: center; user-select: text !important;"span style="font-family: 'Akkurat Std', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; white-space: pre;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongRed Fox Restitution/strong/span strongemIt's at the break of dawn in New Mobotropolis…/em/strong Most citizens of the city are still suspicious of a certain Mobian who was just recently allowed to live among them. That Mobian is known as Fiona Fox, who is sound asleep in her new hut. The vixen had been sleeping uncomfortably for half of the night, knowing that most of the citizens still have bitter feelings towards her. However, as the night went on, she started to feel more comfortable after remembering that the Freedom Fighters are on her side. Today is the day where they'll be announcing her return to the team. It's a bit unnerving for her that all of the citizens will be there watching at the Coliseum, but as long as Sonic and the gang are nearby, she'll be fine. Still, there's something that was continuing to eat at her. She already apologized to all the Freedom Fighters for betraying them, and she's so glad that they forgave her. But there were two more Mobians she had to apologize to before she could move on in life personally; Rosemary and Amadeus Prower. She needed to say sorry for hurting their son. They might tell Tails to stay away from her, and she didn't want that. She had to let them know that she's changed for the better and that she wouldn't hurt him. Soon, the light from outside started to shine on the vixen, "Mmmmm… Is it morning already? It feels like I've only slept for an hour." she muttered while sitting up. "*Yawn* What time is it?" Fiona looked at her watch and saw that it's 9:30 AM. "Oh, good. I have just enough time to get dressed." When Fiona entered the bathroom, she started thinking out loud about visiting Tails' parents. "How should I approach them? They definitely won't be happy to see me, so I need to give off a good vibe." She stared at herself in the mirror and frowned, "I guess I should start with my clothes. This bad girl attire is dated, anyway. I need something that's a bit more... bright." The vixen goes to her closet and starts going through her wardrobe, "Hmmm...should I wear my old Freedom Fighter outfit?" She thought about it and then frowned again, "No, I shouldn't. This full body suit also looks stupid nowadays. I don't know why I used to like wearing it." After looking a bit more, she spots a purple t-shirt and jeans, "Maybe this'll do." She quickly changes into the clothes and examines herself in the mirror. The new appearance made her smile. "Not bad. It's basic, but it works. I think I'm good." Fiona and her eyes widen, "It's 9:55 already?! I need to go now! The Coliseum announcement is at 10:30!" She wasted no time exiting her home and quickly pacing towards Tails' house. There were already some citizens awake, and all of them gave her dirty looks as she passed by. Fiona just tried her best to ignore them for now. At the moment, she was strictly focused on getting to Tails' house. After a bit of walking, she found herself staring at his front door. A hint of nervousness started to overcome her as she stood there. 'This could either go wonderfully right or terribly wrong…' She knocks….. and then hears footsteps. The door swings open, revealing a confused Tails, "Fiona?" The red vixen smiles nervously, "H-hi, Tails." Tails quickly steps outside, closing the door behind him, "What are you doing here so early? The Coliseum announcement isn't until 10:30," he whispered. "...I came to speak to your parents." Fiona replied. This made the young one raise an eyebrow, "Do you really think that's a good idea right now? I'm still trying to convince them that you've changed." Fiona rubbed the back of her head and pouted, "I don't know… I just thought that maybe if I apologized to them in person, they wouldn't be as angry. I want to show your parents that I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes in front of them..." Tails stared at her with his own sad look, "I guess we can give it a shot… Come inside." The yellow fox's smile then changed into a shy one, "By the way, I like your new clothes." Fiona smirked slightly, "Thanks." Both of them step inside and quietly close the door. Fiona sits on the couch while Tails slowly walks into the kitchen. The younger fox peaked out of the kitchen and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet, Fiona?" "Actually, I haven't. I kinda woke up a bit late and rushed over here," she answered. "Do you want some waffles? I made some for my parents, but there is a couple extra. Plus, they're still hot!" Tails offered. Fiona waved her hands nervously and said, "I'm fine, Tails. You don't have to do that for me." The yellow fox smiled, "Well, too bad. I'm already fixing a plate for you." He brought Fiona a plate and a fork, which made her head dip, "Tails…" she said softly. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Fiona, you don't have to be nervous around me. We're friends now, okay?" Hearing this made her smile faintly as her eyes shifted up towards his, "Okay." Tails smiled again and went back into the kitchen to get a drink. While he does this, Fiona starts thinking to herself as she eats. 'He's such a sweetheart. This is only making me feel worse for hurting him. I wish I could go back in time and undo all of it…' Not long after thinking this, Tails' mother (Rosemary) is heard coming down the hallway, "Honey, do we have a guest? I heard someone else tal-" The mother freezes up as soon as she entered the living room and spotted Fiona. "Tails, what's going on here?" she asked. Her son raced out of the kitchen and up to her, "Mom, this is Fiona. She-" The mother quickly interrupted, "Are you insane?! Why on Mobius would you let her inside?! This is the girl that abused you!" Fiona felt her stomach sink and stood up, "Mrs. Prower, please don't be mad at him. I invited myself inside-" Rosemary cut in again, "I don't want to hear another word from you! I'm not letting our son get manipulated again!" Tails' father (Amadeus) hears the commotion and enters the living room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "*Yawn* Why are you screaming, dear? I'm trying to-" The father also froze when he spotted the red vixen, "What is she doing here?" Tails spoke, "She came to talk to you both." "Well, I don't want to hear it. You better leave right now before I force you to." the mother threatened. "Geez, mom! At least hear her out! She isn't evil anymore!" Tails blurted. Rosemary turned to her son, looking worried, "No, Tails! People like her don't change! She only wants to abuse you, and we aren't letting that happen! We won't fail to protect you again!" Amadeus gave his input, "I'm afraid your mother is right, son. You shouldn't be so naive in believing she has changed so quickly. She could be pretending and waiting for the right moment to take advantage of you once more." Tails shook his head, "That's not true! Fiona HAS changed! You'd see that if you'd just give her a chance!" Fiona started to tear up. The harsh words from Tails' parents stung severely… but in her mind, she only had herself to blame. "Tails, it's okay. You don't have to defend me. I'll just go." Fiona ran out of the house in tears. "No, come back!" Tails yelled. He tried to run after her but was held back by his mother. "Tails, stop! Don't fall for her facade! You can't let her take advantage of you!" At that moment Tails anger exploded, "You mean like the way you took advantage of me during that civil war dad almost started?!" His mother jumped, "What?!" Tails pointed at her, "When I first heard that dad got arrested, I was confused! I didn't know who I wanted to side with! After Sonic explained what happened, I wanted to side with him at first, but I gave you both the benefit of the doubt and listened to you because you're my parents! You took advantage of me by convincing me you were right, even though you knew the way dad went about things was wrong!" Amadeus was stunned, "But Tails, she-" Tails cut him off right there, "'She' nothing dad! Don't try to convince me that you're right again, because you're not! I know Fiona hurt me badly, but she's not the same person anymore! Some people CAN change! She's already been abused enough for her past mistakes, and I won't tolerate it anymore! Not when she's trying so hard to redeem herself!" The furious teenager starts to walk towards the door while uttering two more bitter sentences, "I knew I should've gone to Sonic and Sally for help after you started that rebellion. They're the people who ACTUALLY raised me, after all." And with those parting words, he dashed off, leaving his parents emotionally torn. Meanwhile, Fiona continues running with tears blurring her vision. She couldn't see a thing in front of her, but she didn't care… She just kept running… until a rock on some uneven ground messed up her footing, causing her to trip and fall face first. This gave Tails enough time to catch up. "*Gasp* Fiona!" He immediately rushes next to the red vixen and helps her up to her knees. "Are you okay?" Fiona didn't open her eyes and continued to sniffle. Tails kept his arm around her, "Fiona, I'm sorry about what my parents said." Fiona spoke in a low and somber tone, "Tails, all of this is happening because of what I did to you and the others. I deserve all of it. Besides, dealing with this is better than still being with Scourge. So you don't have to feel sorry for me." Tails frowned, "You're right, I don't have to. But I do feel sorry for you. When you hurt me, I had all my friends and family there to help me recover. You, however… you've been abused for most of your life, with no one there to help you." The yellow fox stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Not anymore, though. What you did to me in the past, can stay in the past. As of today, I'm not going to let anyone abuse you. I'll make sure the Freedom Fighters protect you, I promise." Fiona was at a loss for words. This boy, who she hurt so badly, is now promising to protect her? It didn't make any sense… All she could do is stare into his innocent and pure blue eyes. After a few more seconds, she wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall. Tails gently returned the embrace while the group of citizens outside watches in confusion. Only one question occupied their minds' as they gawked at the two foxes: "Were her tears real or fake?" The answer they got was a rush of wind zooming past them. It was Sonic, who stopped right in front of Tails and Fiona. "The heck is going on?" he asked. Tails was thrown off by his sudden arrival, "Sonic? What are you doing here?" The Blue Blur pointed at them both, "I've been looking for you two, dude. The Coliseum announcement is happening in ten minutes." Tails' eyes widened, "Already?!" Sonic simply replied with, "Yep." "So, where's Sally?" Tails asked. The hedgehog pointed a thumb behind him, "She's probably with Nicole and the others, setting up the stage." Sonic then noticed Fiona's roughed up appearance, "Woah! You alright, Fi?" Tails helps Fiona to her feet as she wiped the last of her tears, "Yeah, I just tripped." Sonic scratched his head while Fiona dusted off her clothes and then smiled at her, "Well, uh, I'm digging the new look. I like it way better than the old one." The red fox smiled sheepishly, "Thanks. I do too." Sonic focused back on his "lil bro," "So, Tails, are your parents coming to the coliseum too?" The teenage boy remembered what he said to his folks and looked away, with one hand behind his head, "Probably not…" The hedgehog raised an eyebrow, "Huh? How come?" This question made the yellow fox pout, "They really don't believe that Fiona can change. That, and I may have said some… hurtful things to them…" Both Sonic and Fiona seemed concerned, "What did you say?" Sonic asked. Tails frowned, "I told them that they took advantage of me during that rebellion dad started... And I said that I should've gone to you and Sally for help after he was arrested since you were the ones that raised me." Fiona gasped softly, and Sonic raised both eyebrows in shock. "Oh, man. That's harsh, lil' bro. You do know that they were captured and roboticized by egg-head not long after you were born, right?" Sonic reminded him. Tails' frown turned into a sad pout, "Yeah, that's true… I know it wasn't right to say that, but… I was furious. They were being so close-minded about Fiona changing." The female fox spoke up, "Tails, they're only trying to look after you. I appreciate you defending me, but I think you should go back and talk to them." "Gotta agree with Fi, buddy. Go talk to them and then meet us at the Coliseum afterward. We'll wait for ya." Tails shied away from the two, "Okay." emstrongBack at Tails' House…/strong/em The melancholic Rosemary and Amadeus both sit on the living room couch in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. They were in too much pain to even think straight. It took a bit, but the mother eventually placed a hand on her husband's and spoke. "I feel awful, Amadeus. What are we going to do about our son?" "I honestly don't know, my love. Perhaps we were being a bit too harsh on him and his friend?" "Yes… yes, we were. And maybe he was right about us taking advantage of his innocence. If it weren't for the princess and her compromise, a civil war would have definitely started between the citizens." Amadeus nodded in agreement, "I admit my way of handling things was a bit too direct. I should've been more tactful in my approach." Rosemary stood up slowly, "We need to find him, Amadeus." The husband rose to his feet as well. Tails entered the house right after this, to his parents' delight. Both of them quickly paced towards the teen, anxious to apologize. "Tails, we're so happy that you came back." Rosemary chanted. The father quickly grew a remorseful expression and spoke first, "Listen, son. We apologize for being so harsh on you and that girl." "And we're really sorry for taking advantage of you…" Tails stared at the two in disbelief. His parents' body language was so sad and shameful. "But most of all, we're sorry for not being there for you when you were younger." the mother added. The yellow fox shook his head in response to the last sentence, "You don't need to apologize for that last thing, mom, and dad. That was a really, really unfair and hurtful thing to say. I know you guys were taken from me when I was really young. It's not your fault that you couldn't raise me." Tails softly glared at the ground as he continued, "I'm just mad at the way all of the citizens are treating Fiona. When you guys started saying bad things too, I snapped. I know she was evil before, but that was in the past. I swear, she's changed for good." Rosemary placed a hand on his head, "Honey, we didn't mean to be so hateful. We weren't there to keep you safe. The first time and it made us feel like bad parents. We really only wanted to protect you from getting hurt again." Tails looked back up at her, "I understand, mom. But please, give Fiona a chance. She's been abused for almost her entire life with no one to help her along the way. All she wants to do at this point is become a better person and redeem herself. Can you both try to forgive her? For me?" Amadeus put a hand on Rosemary's shoulder, causing her to stare at him. After a brief pause, both of them nodded at each other and embraced their child. "For you, Tails, of course." Rosemary agreed. A slightly tearful Tails smiled and cuddled between them both, "Also, don't you ever say you're bad parents again. You guys mean the world to me... a-and I love you." "We love you too, son," Amadeus said as a teardrop trickled down his left cheek. emstrongNew Mobotropolis Stadium, 10:20 A.M./strong/em The remaining Freedom Fighters are all setting up the stage for the big announcement. "Put the podium in that spot over there, Bunnie." Sally ordered. The Rabbot places the rather large platform in the middle of the stage. "Right here?" Bunnie verified. Sally gave her best friend a thumbs up, "Perfect." "Yo, Sal!" A voice yelled. Sally, along with the others, turn to the stadium entrance to see Sonic and Fiona walking towards them. Rotor was the only one who didn't notice since he was still busy setting up the last two stage lights. "Hi!" "Howdy, y'all." "Bonjour, mes amies." The others greeted. Sonic and Fiona replied with Sup/Hi respectively. As Fiona started to converse with the others, the princess smiled at the blue hedgehog with half closed eyes and sauntered up to him. Sonic smiled back, "So how's everything-" Right before he could finish his sentence, Sally wrapped her arms around the Blue Blur and pulled him into a kiss. When their lips separated, Sonic was as red as Knuckles. "What was that all about?" he asked. Sonic's expression made his partner giggle sweetly, "I wanted to sneak in a surprise kiss. Your reaction is pretty funny. Now I understand why you like doing it to me." It took Sonic a moment to gather himself, "Heh, I guess that was well-deserved payback." The hedgehog smiled suavely, "'Course, the score is still in my favor." Sally smirked while rolling her eyes, "I didn't think you were keeping score. Glad to know you take pride in 'surprise kissing' me." she muttered sarcastically. The princess quickly ended her banter with Sonic and focused her attention on the red fox behind her, "Alright, Fiona. Are you ready for the big announcement today?" she asked. Fiona smiled timidly, "As ready as I'll ever be." Amy nudges Fiona slightly, "Relax, Fiona. We'll be here to back you up if something goes wrong," she reassured. "But what should I say when it's my turn to speak? Most of the citizens hate me…" Fiona asked in a low tone. Bunnie spoke up, "Just be honest with 'em, hon. The folks here aren't all heartless. They've made mistakes too." Suddenly another voice came from the entrance of the Coliseum, "Hi, everybody!" The voice once again made the others (except Rotor) turn their heads. They all beamed as Tails approached them. Sally quickly hugged him, "Hi, Tails." Tails hugged back with the biggest smile. Despite being older, he still loves getting hugs from his former 'aunt'. He always felt so warm and safe in her arms. When the embrace ended, Amy put her arm around the fox with her own grin. "How's your chest feeling? Is it any better yet?" she asked. Sally nodded, "I was about to ask that myself." "It feels great. In fact, I'm fully healed now!" Tails announced. "C'est magnifique! Well, aren't you ze manly man?" Antoine said with a grin, making Tails blush slightly and Bunnie snicker. The news got Sonic pumped up, "Does that mean we have you back on the team?" he asked. "Yep!" the young fox answered. The two "brothers" bumped fists, "Sweet! Welcome back to the active roster!" Bunnie had a wide grin too until she noticed that Rotor was still focused on the final stage light, making her frown, "Hey, Rotor! Didja hear the good news?!" she yelled to snap him out of it. Rotor flinched, "What? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice that anyone showed up. This last stage light is being really stubborn." The walrus tried to climb down quickly but slipped and fell, "Ahh!" Antoine attempts to catch him, forgetting how much his purple friend weighed, "I am gotting you!" Suddenly, a mattress materializes under Rotor, breaking his fall. "No need, Antoine. I can handle the situation," said Nicole, who appeared in front of him. Antoine respectfully bowed with a smile, "Merci, beaucoup." Rotor stood up slowly, "Yeah, thanks for that. You really saved my bacon." The holo-lynx smiled cheekily, "My pleasure." Sally made her way to the walrus, asking, "Are you okay, Rotor?" Rotor put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, princess. I'm fine. The fall didn't mess with my back if that's what you're thinking." Sally wiped the small amount of sweat from her head, "Thank goodness. That actually was my next question. Thanks for setting up the stage lights." Rotor saluted, making the princess smile in amusement, "All in a day's work, your highness." Bunnie stood in the middle of her friends, "Alrighty y'all! Ready to get this show on the road?" she asked. "Yep! It's actually 10:27 right now." Amy added. "I'll make the announcement," Nicole said. The lynx disappeared and projected herself across all the monitors in the city, "Citizens of New Mobotropolis! This is your hostess Nicole speaking. Please report to the Coliseum for an urgent announcement from the princess. Thank you!" she requested in a cheery voice. It didn't take long for the stadium to fill up after that. All of the citizens have been hearing rumors and were curious about what their princess had to say. Once the stadium was full, Sally stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. "Hello, my fellow Mobians. Thank you so much for showing up to this announcement on time. I know everyone is busy, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible." she started. "Today, I'd like to talk to you all about empathy and forgiveness. Everyone here, including myself, is not perfect. We're all people, and we make mistakes, both big and small every day. The person I'm about to reintroduce has made her fair share of mistakes in the past but now wishes to atone for them. Today, I welcome Fiona Fox back to the Freedom Fighters." Most of the crowd either gasped or frowned in response. Before continuing to talk, Sally raised a hand, signaling the citizens to cease their reactions for a moment. "Now, I'm sure everyone has questions as to why we came to this decision, and I'd be happy to answer them." She stopped once more to let the crowd die down. "As you all know, we were invaded by Scourge the Hedgehog and his Suppression Squad three days ago. They were a high-level threat and could've devastated our planet if given a chance. It was thanks to Fiona that we were able to figure out Scourge's plans and motives. She also convinced his own team to rebel against him, which allowed us to organize a solid counter-attack. This, in turn, prevented him from inflicting harm on anyone else. If it weren't for Fiona's help, we would still be in danger, and I really want to emphasize this. With that being said, Fiona herself would like to explain things from her point of view." The princess stepped away from the podium and motioned the red fox to come over. Bunnie saw Fiona's frightened expression and nudged her, "Go on, sugar. Just remember what ah toldja; Be honest." Fiona's nervous grin grew wider, "R-right." Tails grabbed Fiona's hand gently and smiled softly at her, "Let's go, Fiona. I'll walk you to the podium." The female vixen felt a strange wave of calmness hit her as soon as Tails' grip registered in her mind. Despite this, she kept her nervous smile. "Thanks," she said. Both of them slowly walked up to the stand. While this happens, the crowd stares silently. Some of them looked confused (most likely because of Tails holding her hand), and the others continued glaring. Sally smiled at the two as they passed her. "Do your best," she whispered. When Fiona was finally at the podium, she looked at the crowd and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Instead of glaring at her, the group stared silently with confusion. Nicole appeared right next to her, "Whenever you're ready." Fiona stepped up to the microphone, and spoke, "Hi, everyone…... The very first thing I want to do is thank the Freedom Fighters for all of their help and support. They are the most kind and understanding people I've ever met, and it's because of them that I was able to see how wrong I was about this world… and how wrong my mindset was. What I did in the past was wrong, and I apologize to all of you for betraying your trust." "THEN WHY DID YOU?!" an outraged citizen interrupted. A bunch of others shouted "Yeah!" in agreement. A female dog shouted, "There's no excuse for what you did! Betraying our city and slapping a young boy deserves harsh punishment. You should be jailed!" More citizens jumped on the dog's bandwagon. "Absolutely!" "I agree 100%!" "I say it should be a twenty-five-year sentence!" Opposing views started to erupt from others in the stadium. "What?! That's way too harsh!" "Yeah, we all make mistakes! We should give her a chance!" Another mobian's temper flared. This time it was an elderly male ferret. "Are you defending her actions?! What possible excuse could she have for committing such insidious crimes?!" The arguing was growing in the crowd, making Amy tense up as she summoned her Piko Hammer. Sonic and Sally notice this quickly and address it. Sonic places a hand on her shoulder to ease Amy's nerves, "Chill, Amy. You don't gotta use the hammer. Things haven't gotten too crazy yet." Sally agreed and stated, "Give the citizens a moment to calm down." The pink hedgehog frowned at the princess, "Calm down? Sally, they're arguing. And it's getting louder and louder." Bunnie chimed in, "Ah say we wait as well, hon. Once we start hearin' name callin' and seein' punches is when we'll step in." Amy pouted and made her hammer disappear. The crowd continued to argue with each other, which kept Fiona in a shocked state. "Are you forgetting that Shadow the Hedgehog has done even worse things?! He almost destroyed the planet, and now he works for G.U.N! We forgave him, so why can't we forgive her?!" This point silenced the naysayers for a moment until an adult Koala shouted, "Well, we still deserve to know why! She should explain everything to us and reveal the truth! Do you at least agree with that?!" A lot of the crowd blurted out "Yeah" in agreement. "Go ahead! Explain yourself! What led you to do these despicable acts?!" an adult monkey said to the stunned Fiona. "O-okay… I'll explain everything. After what I did, you all deserve to know. It's a long story though." Fiona said. "Then start talking already, women!" a male cat yelled. "Would you shut up and let her explain, idiot?! Jeez!" A male leopard shouted. The cat stood up out of rage, "What did you say, boy?! Come here and say that to my face!" Arguments started again, prompting Geoffrey St. John to stand up. He was in a separate section with his wife and the Royal Guard. "Enough!" he shouted through his megaphone, silencing the entire stadium. "As commander of the Secret Service, I'm ordering everyone to be silent until Fiona is done speaking! Anyone who talks out of turn again will be escorted out of the stadium!" Geoffrey demanded. He faced Fiona, "You can continue." Fiona nodded, and Geoffrey sat back down. The commander smirked at his wife, "You were right, luv. This megaphone really did come in handy." Hershey the Cat smiled back, "Told you so. I had a feeling the stadium might become a bit rowdy after hearing the news." Sonic chuckled at the whole situation, "Wow. Stinky managed to silence everybody just like that." Fiona started to feel uncomfortable since she's going to talk about her dark past. This time it's to the public though, making it even more unnerving. So before she began telling her story, she took a moment to compose herself. "When I was young, I got kidnapped by Robotnik and taken away from my family. He wanted to use Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, me, and many other Mobians for experiments. We ended up being trapped at his research facility for three years. Mighty and Ray were able to escape with Sonic's help, but I was left behind and taken to a different lab. After making a robot clone of me, Robotnik left me to rot in a prison cell... It-it scarred me…" Her voice began to quiver as tears started to appear in her eyes, "I was so afraid… I thought I was going to be trapped there forever. I realized after months of waiting that no one was going to save me. I was only able to escape after two years of digging a secret tunnel with little food or water. I tried for a month to find my parents afterward and found that they have left our home. I don't know what happened to them or why they left… I assumed they had moved on without me." The tears were getting worse, so Fiona had to pause and wipe them. While doing so, a curious and sympathetic Mobian in the crowd asked, "Why didn't you join the Freedom Fighters after that?! They would have definitely taken you in!" Geoffrey thought about escorting the mobian out of the stadium for disobeying orders, but his wife stopped him from grabbing the megaphone. "Let her answer their questions. As long as they're civil about it, there's no harm. If anyone becomes disrespectful, then you can do your thing." Hershey whispered. The skunk trusted his wife's judgment and complied, stating, "If you say so, luv." The red vixen answered the citizen's question honestly, "Because during that time I was furious that Sonic left me behind. He and Mighty promised to come back and free me, but they never did. For the longest time, I thought they had left me on purpose... but they didn't. Robotnik knew they would come back to save me, so he sabotaged the rescue. He gassed his whole lab, causing everyone but himself to pass out. I wasn't aware of him taking me to a different prison since they looked exactly the same." Fiona closed her eyes, her expression becoming more dismal in the process, "Back then though, it made me feel that relying on others was pointless… That you couldn't count on anyone... I chose a life of theft instead to get by. To survive. I only decided to join the Freedom Fighters after Sonic sacrificed himself for all of us. But because I was so damaged by all I've been through, I closed myself off from the Freedom Fighters. When Scourge came along, I made the huge mistake of opening up to him and falling in love." Another mobian yelled out another question, "That doesn't make any sense! Why would you be endeared by such a corrupt individual?!" Fiona's expression remained the same as if she knew that inquiry was coming, "Because I was corrupt too. I really thought we were similar in a lot of ways. He used his bad boy mentality to lure me in, and I took the bait like a fool." The fox's face changed into one of irritation, "My mind was not in the right place, and I let him take advantage of that. He manipulated me so easily that it makes feel absolutely ashamed of myself. I never should've let him convince me that being a villain is more fun than being a hero. It was WRONG! So wrong... I realized my horrible decision too late when I saw how merciless he was when taking over Moebius." The topic of Scourge's conquest of Moebius caused Fiona to break down in tears, "S-so many people were killed, and I just stood there and watched Scourge do it. I-I w-wanted to help them, I really did… b-but I was so scared of him. He was too powerful… Me and the other m-members of the Suppression Squad had to stand-by and play along, or else he would've k-killed us too. The Freedom Fighters may have saved our lives by stopping him, but that doesn't change the fact that so many people suffered." The Freedom Fighters stood behind Fiona with their own sad stares. They were going to ask her if she was able to finish explaining but she continued. "All I want to do is move forward and focus on improving myself as a person. As much as I want to go back and undo all the crimes I've committed, I understand that I have to live with them. I'm not asking for you all to forgive me. You have every right not to. What I am asking for is a chance to rejoin a good cause. That's all I want… Thank you all for hearing me out." Fiona finally opened her eyes and studied the crowd. What she witnessed surprised her. There were still a good amount of people with conflicted faces, but most of the group consisted of soft smiles and sympathetic expressions. Small talk between some of the more unsure citizens filled the air as they contemplate how they feel. Two adult bears discuss among themselves and the others around them. "Do you buy her story? I'm not sure if I do." "Her explanation was way too detailed to be fake. I say we give her a shot. Not everyone is irredeemable. There've been plenty of previously bad individuals who have become good." A female goose agreed, saying, "That's true. Shadow the Hedgehog is a prime example, right?" An echidna two rows below her shouted, "You're darn-tootin' he is! It wouldn't be fair to oust this young lady considerin' that the black hedgehog almost destroyed our planet." The support for giving Fiona another chance seemed to grow throughout most of the crowd, drowning out the small number of mobians who still opposed the idea. Fiona continued watching the stands until she felt Tails' warm grip on her hand again, shifting her eyes towards his. The next words that came out of Tails' mouth accidentally picked up on the mic, "You did great, Fiona. You should be proud." He and the rest of the Freedom Fighters gave her encouraging smiles, and Sally stepped up to the mic. "She certainly should be. It took a lot of courage to admit your mistakes in front of everyone here. And because of that courage, I'm willing to welcome you back as both an official citizen of New Mobotropolis and as a Freedom Fighter." The regal chipmunk then faced her subjects, "And to all my citizens, do you welcome Fiona back? Are you willing to give her another opportunity to fight for our planet?" she asked. The amount of cheering in response heavily outweighed the small number of boos. Fiona cried tears of joy, "Th-thank you, everybody. I'll do my best. For Mobius." The princess was overjoyed to see such a positive response. She loved how accepting most of her people were being. "Thank you for your time, everyone! You're all free to leave!" she yelled out. In a mere two minutes after this was said, the stadium was cleared out, leaving only the Freedom Fighters. Bunnie lightly punch Fiona's arm, "Y'see? I toldja they'd accept you. Ya just gotta be honest with us." The fox had a small smile as she faced her new friends, "I will be. I know I've said this multiple times, but thank you for being so forgiving… And I'm sorry for ever betraying you guys in the first place." Sonic placed both of his hands on Fiona's shoulders, "Ease up, Fi. You don't gotta apologize anymore. We're all cool with you. It's like I tell Tails all the time, "You gotta live and learn." Don't think about the past, just focus on what's in front of you now." The others raised their eyebrows in surprise, not expecting such wisdom from the Blue Blur. The hedgehog backed up and grinned at something behind his friends. Two familiar mobians were approaching the stage. "That was quite the speech, I must say." Amadeus said. "I concur." Rosemary agreed. Fiona flinched at the sight of them, "Mr. and Mrs. Prower, I-I-" she stuttered. Rosemary raised a hand, "It's okay, Fiona. We're not here to scold you." The red fox raised both eyebrows in bewilderment, "You're not?" Amadeus replies, "Quite the contrary. We actually wanted to apologize." Fiona sadly pouts, "Please don't. What I did to your son was awful." Rosemary replied, "Yes, it was. But if our son can forgive you after what happened, then we can too." The husband quickly added, "As long as you don't do it again, of course." Fiona shook her head, "I won't. Not after everything he and the others have done for me." Fiona then ruffled Tails' bangs, "Your son is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. There's no way I could ever hurt him like that again." The shy smile from the teenage boy made the parents beam as well, "If you really mean that… then I see no problem with you being around him. We should trust our son to make his own decisions. He's not a child anymore." Amadeus declared. Said son grew a big smile after his parents' feedback, "Thanks, mom and dad." Both parents started to walk away, with Rosemary looking back and stating, "We'll see you back at home later, sweetie." "Okay, see ya!" the yellow fox blurted. Silence occurred between the Freedom Fighters for a moment. That is until Amy asked Sally, "So what do we now, Sally? Are we focusing on that egg-shaped creep next?" Sally answered, "Mmhmm. We have to prepare for our final push against Robotnik. We need a couple of days to gather supplies and come up with a plan. The Chaotix are currently undercover though, so we'll need to wait until they return." Amy put one finger on her chin, "Ah, so that's why I haven't seen them this morning. I got pretty angry when I thought they were late. I was going to give them a piece of my mind." Rotor smirked, "And by 'giving them a piece of your mind' you mean smacking them with your hammer, right?" A couple of the others snickered, but the rosy hedgehog didn't seem offended, "No, no. My temper isn't that bad anymore." she said, waving one of her hands with a shooing motion. Antoine was still curious about the Chaotix, "Ma princesse, are ze Chaotix lookink for somethink specific?" he inquired. The chipmunk nodded, "They're gathering intel on Robotnik's main base and the state of his forces. The Eggdome is heavily fortified and getting inside will be difficult. If they spot any weaknesses, we're going to exploit them to the fullest." The explanation the princess gave made her blue partner a bit bitter, "Why couldn't I go with them? I wanted to get in on the action!" Sally's knowing smile appeared, "Do I even need to answer that? Stealth isn't exactly your strong suit, Mr. Reckless." Sonic rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon. I'm at least more stealthy than Vector. I mean, the dude is a giant green croc!" A sigh escaped Sally's lips, "Sonic, I don't want to argue about this. The decision has already been made. Plus, I really need you here." The stubborn hedgehog crossed his arms, "Do you really?" It was subtle, but when Sally looked directly at him, he saw a small amount of concern in her eyes, "Yes, I do. We all do. Just in case." Sonic stared right back into her eyes. Those gleaming sapphires of hers were almost hypnotic sometimes. Eventually, he gave in and with his own sigh, stating, "Alright, if you say so." "Thank you." she answered, lightly grabbing his hand. Rotor felt a small pain in his stomach due to hunger. It was close to noon after all. "Do you guys wanna get something to eat? It's almost lunchtime." he asked. Bunnie quickly agreed, "Ah'm pretty famished mahself. Why don't we all head on over to Chuck's?" Antoine groaned, "Again? Zis is ze fourth time zis week?" Sonic let out a heh, "Where else are gonna go, Twan? Creme de la creme? The coyote folded his arms, "I say we should." Amy laughed, "Antoine, that place is for romantic dates. Besides, Sir Charles recently hired some French chef's to make croissants and escargot." Antoine raised an eyebrow, "Ees zis true?" Tails excitedly answered, "Yep! They're both permanent menu choices!" The coyote grinned at Sonic, "If zat's ze case I am… how you say- being cold with eet?" This time everyone laughed at the butchered phrase. "The saying is 'I'm cool with it', 'Twan." the blue hedgehog chortled. Antoine, with a scowl, blushed, "Whatever." Bunnie put her arm around her husband while still giggling, "Don't be embarrassed, Sugar-Twan. Ah think it's cute when try ta talk like Sonic." "Stop eet…" he muttered. "We're just busting your chops, Antoine. Now let's go get some lunch." Rotor said. As they started walking together, Fiona watched the Freedom Fighters continue chatting with each other about different things. Their comradery with one another kept her smiling the entire way. It was like they were a family. A family that she's a part of now. It's true that she must live with the wrongs she has committed in the past. But right now, at this moment… things seemed so much brighter. In her opinion, things can only go up from here. strongEnd/strong/span/p 


End file.
